Brand | ASSOCIATION TUNISIENNE DES FEMMES DÉMOCRATES |
Product/Service | WOMEN'S RIGHTS |
Entrant | Y&R DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES |
Category | Use of Social Platforms |
Idea Creation
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Y&R DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
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Additional Company
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PANORAMA | Y&R TUNIS, TUNISIA
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The Campaign
The creative idea was to expose entrenched attitudes within Tunisian society that lead many people, specifically men, to react with more outrage to nudity than the fact that the naked body in question bears the cuts and bruises of physical abuse.
Creative Execution
We posted a picture of Amal’s naked and bruised body on Facebook to draw attention to the abuse she had endured. But the image offended more people because it showed a woman’s naked body than the fact that she had been beaten. Furthermore, Facebook removed the post in just one day, citing online regulations banning nudity. Determined to end the violence, we collaborated with ATFD, the oldest feminist association in Tunisia, and engaged the entire country through a social initiative called Warri, the Arabic word for ‘Expose’, dedicated to exposing images of these acts of violence. The Warri campaign started in December 2016 and is on-going with presences on Facebook and at its own website, where it continues to invite women to share their stories and images of abuse.
Results
The cause was immediately championed by human rights activists and bloggers. Well-known actresses and journalists joined our cause, giving it a stronger voice. Prime time radio and TV shows invited many of those celebrities and public figures to explain their points of view, and the story was covered by websites from around the Arab world. In just 28 days, over 2,243,000 people were exposed to ‘Warri’ encouraging hundreds of women to end their shame, to be brave, and to post their pictures of abuse and share their stories. We are proud to announce that Facebook, despite their regulations that ban nudity, republished Amal’s image 3 weeks after they had initially taken the page down. Today ATFD is continuing to support the women of Tunisia through WARRI, changing their shame into acts of pure bravery.
The Warri campaign that was a direct response to a story of real life abuse faced by women. An image that showed the bruised naked body of a woman became infamous for nudity rather than abuse. The picture was removed by Facebook. Warri appealed to women to share their stories and pictures of abuse to ensure that these images would never be hidden from society. The outpouring of support online become a topic discussed nationally eventually leading to Facebook restoring the original picture. More importantly Warri showed society the abuse women face daily and opened the door to change.
Our research revealed that Facebook policy and many other social media forums cite cyber regulations that ban nudity as a reason to remove such content from their sites, regardless of the reason for posting the content in the first place. But given that 47% of Tunisian women are abused, and that 81% of them are too scared to file a complaint, people who seek to raise awareness of the issue by posting images of the physical abuse that women endure on their bodies clearly do so to promote urgent social change. Our strategy tackled the issue in its native cyber-media space, directly encouraged woman to be brave and share their stories online, and sparked a nation-wide public conversation about the topic.
Credits
Kalpesh Patankar |
Y&R Dubai |
Executive Creative Director |
Karim El-Kik |
Y&R Tunis |
Creative Director |
Mahmoud Boussetta |
Y&R Tunis |
Associate Creative Director |
Hamza Mesbah |
Y&R Tunis |
Art Director |
Anissa Ayari |
Y&R Tunis |
Copywriter |
Wassim Ben Haj Youssef |
Y&R Tunis |
Digital Planner |
Mehdi Hamza |
Y&R Tunis |
Account Director |
Sarah Abdelkefi |
Y&R Tunis |
TV Producer |
Amenallah Ouakajja |
Y&R Tunis |
TV Producer |
Karim Kamoun |
Y&R Tunis |
Photographer |
Zaid Alwan |
Y&R Dubai |
Creative Director |
Olga Kudryashova |
Y&R Dubai |
Strategic Planning Director |