2016 Winners & Shortlists

Creative Execution

We created a spot and disguised it as a live call-in conversation between an RJ and a caller Sara. On the surface, it looked like a typical woman talking about her happy married life. But in reality, she was a victim revealing the harsh truth and asking for help. There was a message hidden inside a message. People could uncover the story via the Tonio app which sends data to mobile devices via silent soundwaves. The app listened to radio spot and the audio triggered mobiles to play Sara’s real story.

The campaign reached 2m people and implored people to listen to the signs of domestic violence around them and play their part. 15 case of abuse were registered in the last 3 months via relatives & friends of victims. UAE is strongly considering an Abuse law protection women. For No More Tears, this was a beginning of a new movement.

Domestic abuse is a taboo subject in UAE. Every month, hundreds of incidents go unreported as victims live in fear and do not report. It’s a taboo to even admit to yourself that you are a victim, let alone talk about it. So how do we bring such as private sensitive issue to the surface ? So instead of talking to the victims, No More Tears decided to talk to the residents of the UAE so they can understand and listen carefully to the signs of domestic violence. But how do we encourage people to do that. We knew victims of abuse always hide behind a mask of happiness to keep up a socially acceptable façade. The challenge was to convey to people what’s behind the façade using media. But given its taboo nature, we had to find a discrete yet effective way of communicating with our audience.