There have been some impressive campaigns harnessing social data in recent years, with Intel’s Museum of Me and Me the Musical coming to mind. Now Colenso BBDO is putting that information to good use for Amnesty International with Trial by Timeline, a Facebook application that shows users what some comments or behaviours might have cost them if they lived in different, less tolerant countries.
As the release says, in a country as fortunate as New Zealand, it’s often hard for us to relate to having no freedom of expression, which means Amnesty International’s work is understood and supported by only a small group of people.
“Amnesty International is a global movement of ordinary people standing up for human rights. It is, through sheer luck, that we live in a country that affords us the freedom to be ourselves—to say what we’re thinking, to wear what we want and to choose our own friends. These are freedoms that we all take for granted.”
Of course, these freedoms are also gained through good management, not just sheer luck, but to launch its new positioning statement ‘Protect the Human’ (there’s a Twitter handle #protectthehuman) and to raise awareness of its work, Amnesty International wanted ordinary New Zealanders to experience first hand what it might be like to live without basic human rights.
“These are issues that Amnesty International deals with every day and are a reality for so many people around the world,” says Amnesty International’s deputy director, Rebecca Emery. “Trial by Timeline is a fantastic opportunity for us to bring a greater understanding of human rights issues to New Zealanders in an accessible and creative way.”
“It’s nice to be able to contribute to a societal challenge and use creativity for good. We hope it will make a difference,” says Colenso BBDO managing director, Nick Garrett.
Colenso has won a few medals for its Amnesty International print work in the past, including asilver Cannes Lion in 2010. And it launched an impressive interactive press ad last year, with readers turning the page and helping Amnesty “free the innocent and imprison the guilty.”
Amnesty is funded mainly by membership and public donations. To show your support, check out Amnesty International’s Facebook page, Twitter feed or website.
Credits:
Agency: Colenso BBDO
Creative Director: Levi Slavin
Digital Creative Director: Dan Wright
Art Director: Anna Stickley
Copywriter: Ben Polkinghorne
Account Team: Helen Fitzsimons / Eileen Cosgrove-Moloney
Producer: James McMullan
Production Company: Assembly