top of page

United Nations.

Sport in a box.

 

THE PROBLEM

The United Nations Association in Canada had created Sport-In-A-Box, a youth program designed to bring communities together through sport.

Young people filled boxes with objects representing the importance of sport, then exchanged them with Twinned Communities across Canada. The ambition was to eventually connect young people around the world through the exchange of boxes—and the shared language of sport.

The challenge was to communicate a global idea to a global audience.

THE THINKING

Sport has a unique ability to break down barriers.

It can bring together people who might otherwise have nothing in common. So rather than explain how sport unites people, we decided to demonstrate it.

What if we showed the most unlikely people coming together to play?

THE IDEA

'Sport Unites'

We created two animated films built around misdirection. Each began by creating the expectation that two natural opponents were about to face off.

Then came the reveal: they weren't fighting. They were playing sport together.

The films used simple animation and distinctive world music, deliberately avoiding dialogue so the idea could be understood in any language.

The message was universal: whatever separates us, sport gives us something we can share.

The films were distributed as PSAs across Canada and released virally, directing audiences to sportinabox.ca and inviting young people to discover the program and become part of the global exchange.

 

THE RESULT

Within the first two months, sportinabox.ca began receiving visits from around the world, with particular interest from China, Israel, Turkey, Taiwan, Poland, Germany, Austria, Japan and South Africa.

The international response was strong enough to convince the United Nations to expand the program ahead of schedule.

A Canadian youth initiative had begun to demonstrate its own message: sport really can cross borders.

UN print_Tinted2.jpg
UN print_Tinted.jpg
UN print_Tinted3.jpg

© 2026 Simon Duffy.

bottom of page