Brand | ABAAD |
Product/Service | GENDER EQUALITY NGO |
Entrant | LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON |
Category | Use of Social Platforms |
Idea Creation
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LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
|
Media Placement
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LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
|
PR
|
LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
|
PR 2
|
MSL BEIRUT, LEBANON
|
Production
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ROAD 2 FILM Beirut, LEBANON
|
Why is this work relevant for Direct?
Through a social experiment film, interactive OOH, a stunt, an immersive play and an Integrated influencer and PR amplification program, we brought the country’s attention to the rape taboo and bluntly exposed a patriarchal society that shames and blames women survivors of rape. By leveraging each element of this ecosystem, especially on social media, we were able to mobilize the Lebanese population to shift the blame from the victims to the rapists. More importantly the national outrage generated online by the campaign also encouraged many survivors to report their rape cases.
Background.
Lebanese society is deeply rooted in patriarchy to the point of shaming and blaming women who are victims of rape. Victim blaming is the main reason women do not report rape cases in Lebanon fearing scandal and stigma. Abaad, a Lebanese NGO, wants to shift the blame from the victim to the rapist, and empower women to speak up
Describe the creative idea.
#ShameOnWho? (#MineElFelten) – Judge the rapist not the victim
In the Lebanese patriarchal society, people tend to blame the woman who was victim of sexual abuse as if she was “Looking for it”. They criticize the way she dresses, the way she looks, her actions, etc… Victims of rape are accused of being at fault and called names. A very common Lebanese word is used when “accusing” a rape victim is “Feltene” which means someone who is morally loose. This is why we asked the rhetorical question #Min_ElFelten (#shameOnWho?) to highlight that the woman is not to blame, but the rapist is. He is the one to be blamed for his lack of humanity and loose morals. The shame needed to be shifted from the victim so that people could finally judge the rapist not the victim.
Describe the strategy.
Our audience was the Lebanese society, including public figures, influencers and the public at large.
It was crucial for our campaign to portray reality to the fullest so our insights stemmed from the testimonials of rape survivors who shared their stories on how society’s shaming forced them not to report their rape. Entrenched in the survivors’ testimonials, this reality was at the campaign’s core.
To expose the Lebanese patriarchy for what it truly is, we conducted a social experiment in the popular streets of the capital to show how people reacted to the cries of a rape victim. While her part was scripted, their reactions were real. The online popular outrage sparked by the film allowed us to create the nurturing environment needed for our campaign’s call to action-Judge the rapist not the victim- thus pushing the rape taboo out in the open and finally paving the way for justice.
Describe the execution.
We reveal a social experiment where we document people’s real reactions to a rape victim, sparking an online outrage as we push the rape taboo from behind closed doors. We then trigger our influencer program to further polarize the debate. We collaborate with media figures/influencers who post different Insta-stories of assault and ask the public to cast the blame on the rapist or the victim.
This encourages rape survivors to publicly face their rapists as we graffiti their facial composites on the city walls attracting more media attention. We then hijack Beirut Marathon, where rape survivors refuse to run and face their rapist. Finally, we create an immersive play where people relive the stories of the survivors who came forward.
Every activation in our campaign be it on-ground or online ultimately fed the social conversation pushing the rape taboo out in the open, finally putting the blame where it belongs.
List the results.
Influencers+Media adopted the campaign:
- 150 opinion leaders posted their support including politicians/celebrities/public figures like MP Samy Gemayel, journalist Rima Maktabi and Iraqi activist Zainab Salbi.
- Local/regional TV news coverage+international coverage including CNN (International+Website+Arabic)/BBC/Huffington Post France/Daily Mail/Reuters/AJ+/France 24/New York Times.
- 497 publications (34 countries online+offline)
- $12.23 Million+ earned media
Turning the rape taboo into the #1 trending topic:
- 4 Billion+ impressions
- 13.9 Million+ views
- 226,000+ engagements
- #ShameOnWho recognized as the prime #MeToo campaign of Lebanon.
- Huge debate in LebaneseAmericanUniversity over #ShameOnWho question.
- Instagram artist Audrey Ghoussoub created #ShameOnWho comic.
- Irish movement #ThisIsNotConsent joined the #ShameOnWho campaign.
The conversation led to the ultimate campaign goal: Get women to speak up and face their rapist
- 238 cases of sexual assault reported to Abaad versus 13 in previous year
- International influencer ULAP came forward as a rape survivor with #ShameOnWho
Credits
Bechara Mouzannar |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Chief Creative Officer |
Malek Ghorayeb |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Executive Creative Director |
Malek Ghorayeb |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Regional Executive Creative Director |
Nada Abi Saleh |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Managing Director |
Jo Chemaly |
MSL Beirut |
Managing Director |
Rana Khoury |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Creative Director |
Christina Salibi |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Associate Creative Director |
Lea Salibi |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Creative Director |
May Chaker |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Communication Supervisor |
Samer Chamata |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Communication Manager |
Farah El Beaini |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Senior Communication Executive |
Lama Bawadi |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Senior Copywriter |
Sara Egavian |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Art Director |
Christopher Nehme |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Communication Manager |
Zeina Mokdad |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
AV Production Manager |
Philippe Araman |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Regional Digital Director |
Elias Achkar |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
AV Producer |
Philippe Araman |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Regional Digital Director |
Jennyfer Harb |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Digital Palnner |
Annie-Rita Kassarjian |
MSL Beirut |
Junior Communication Executive |
Mariam Shour |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Junior English Copywriter |
Lama Assaf |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Art Director |
Rania Waked |
Leo Burnett Beirut |
Digital Director |
Layla Gaussin |
MSL Beirut |
Junior Communication Executive |
Roy Khachan |
MSL Beirut |
PR & Communication Executive |
Maia Sahyoun |
MSL Beirut |
PR Executive |
Links
Video URL