Cheil Worldwide launches HOPE TAPE with faces of missing children

25 May 2020 was International Missing Children’s Day and Cheil Worldwide and Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) announced the launch of their HOPE TAPE campaign which aims to help find long-term missing children. 

Cheil Worldwide, a marketing company under the Samsung Group, created a new packaging tape – also named HOPE TAPE – which contains details of 28 children who have been missing long-term. With HOPE TAPE, boxes delivered to every corner of the nation will be transformed into a new medium to spread information that are crucial in finding missing children.

HOPE TAPE carries children’s photos taken at the time of their disappearance, their age progression images using KNPA’s technology, and other information including their physical features and places last seen.

The packaging also contains a QR code that connects to the police department’s dedicated mobile app where people can report and search about missing children, and register fingerprints of their children that can be later used in case of disappearance.

“We ask for the urgent attention and cooperation of citizens and communities around the country to help give hope and encouragement to families of children who have gone missing,” said a KNPA representative. “By organizing the HOPE TAPE campaign, we seek to draw attention to this terribly sad situation.”

In South Korea, 661 children have been missing for over one year, and 638 of those have been missing for more than five years. From May to June, HOPE TAPE will be used in packing 620 thousand parcels to be delivered across the country through courier service providers Korea post and Hanjin Transportation.

“With the COVID-19 outbreak, people tend to stay home and use more door-to-door delivery services making parcels a highly effective medium to spread information of missing children,” said Creative Director at Cheil Worldwide, Seongphil Hwang. 

Cheil also created a film that shows the process of HOPE TAPE from production to delivery. Cheil plans to open its design right of HOPE TAPE to companies and organizations who wish to participate and further spread the campaign.