2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

After decades of dictatorship, the Tunisian people had finally overthrown dictator Ben Ali. But a few weeks before their first ever free and fair elections, it was estimated that only 55% at best would go and vote, ignoring the power and consequences their individual vote could have in helping the democracy they had fought for. On the contrary, they seemed to take their newly gained freedoms for granted. Engagement Citoyen, a non-profit organization that aims to promote tunisians' democratic awakening, asked us to convert this apathy into action and inspire a higher turnout at upcoming elections.

Creative Execution

Tunisians are fiercely protective of their Revolution. They are willing to defend it with their lives. A return to the old status quo would be unthinkable. The campaign didn't only show them that if they didn't vote, their Revolution was in vain. It made them experience the loss of their newly gained freedoms in a very physical and tangible way. The poster shocked them at a personal level and forced them to react, helping them understand what they were sure not to want for Tunisia's future. And, most importantly, that their individual vote could make a difference.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

To re-activate people's sense of political engagement, we set up a provocative and visually engaging reminder. We put back up Ben Ali's giant poster in La Goulette and let people directly experience the real danger of abstention: the return of dictatorship ! A very special poster designed to provoke protests and encourage people to direct action. The people reacted as we expected and torn the poster down. But when they did so, they discovered another one underneath: BEWARE, DICTATORSHIP CAN RETURN. ON OCTOBER 23RD, GO OUT AND VOTE + url for neutral informations on the candidates' programs.

Results

The event was turned into a viral video. The message spread immediately, generating tens of thousands of calls for action, + 461% clickrates on Engagement Citoyen's website and countless media coverage everywhere. People spontaneously changed their social media profile picture into our second poster. Within a few hours, guetting out and vote had become the ultimate act of the revolutionnary process. In the evening it was aired on all Tunisian and Arabic channel news. The next day, it spread worldwide. But, most Importantly, the campaign made people actually vote as 88% turnout was reached. Far higher than the expected 55%.