The video for The Killers' track Goodnight, Travel Well highlights the impact of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
In an exclusive collaboration, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) and rock band The Killers have partnered with UNICEF and USAID to produce a music video that highlights the dangers and impact of trafficking for sexual exploitation, particularly for young women.
The video, for the band's track Goodnight, Travel Well from the album Day & Age premiered globally on Monday July 13 2009 in 168 countries. Since then it has had over 100,000 views on UNICEF's international Youtube channel and become the second most viewed video on the channel!
It represents the second in a series of music video collaborations to highlight the dangers and impact of human trafficking that launched last year with an award-winning film produced by MTV EXIT for the Radiohead single All I Need.
Modern-day slavery
The Killers commented, "We are deeply shocked and appalled that women and children are forced into such exploitative situations. We hope that through MTV's efforts and this powerful video millions of people across the world learn about this tragic form of modern-day slavery".
This music video is an innovative and creative way to get this powerful message across, and has the potential to reach more than 500 million households worldwide.
"There is almost no country in the world now that isn't affected by human trafficking in some way," said Susan Bissell, UNICEF's Head of Child Protection. "The statistics are staggering. More than 1.2 million children are being trafficked each year and nearly 80 per cent of all trafficking is for sexual exploitation, and the most at risk are girls. We see this music video as a powerful way to reach out and raise awareness among young people, across borders and across language barriers."
A global audience
The Killers are taking MTV EXIT to a new level and bringing critical human trafficking messages to a global audience, said Olivier Carduner, USAID's Regional Mission Director for Asia.
The Goodnight, Travel Well video is directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) through renowned production company Anonymous Content. It provides insight into the realities of trafficking, in particular the trafficking of children and adolescents into forced prostitution, and provides a link to information about how people can help to end exploitation and trafficking.