2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

#ENDTHEIRLOCKDOWN

BrandANTI-RACISM MOVEMENT LEBANON
Product/ServiceNGO FIGHTING FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS’ RIGHTS.
EntrantLEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
CategorySingle Market Campaign
Idea Creation LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
Media Placement LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
PR MSL BEIRUT, LEBANON
Production LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
Production 2 1505 STUDIO Beirut, LEBANON
Production 3 LUCID POST Beirut, LEBANON

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

During the imposed lockdown due to COVID, the Lebanese struggled with the experience of being “locked up”. This was an unprecedented opportunity for ARM to sensitize them towards a cause that has historically been hard to grasp: lack of freedom for domestic migrant workers under the Kafala system. For the first time ever employers got a taste of the life they subject domestic migrant workers to. The parallelism brought to life by our film 1)pushed Lebanese employers to take action online by making individual commitments to change their personal behaviours 2)pressure government to revisit the terms of the Kafala law.

Background

The Kafala system is a legal system in which migrant domestic worker’s immigration status is bound to an employer during a contract period. For decades, employers have abused this system and migrant domestic workers with no legal consequences. According to Amnesty International: The Kafala system “traps migrant domestic workers in a nightmarish web of abuse ranging from exploitative working conditions to forced labor and human trafficking,”. Workers are regularly denied their basic freedoms. Their movement is strictly controlled, their days off are taken away and their communication with their friends and family is almost always monitored if not outright forbidden by their employers. It’s basically modern-day slavery and at its worst has brought on fatal outcomes. Yes, the law is archaic, but that doesn’t justify the inhumane way that employers abuse this power. The law shouldn’t be the only reason to force people to change their ways, their humanity should.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Like many people around the world, since the beginning of government-imposed lockdown, the Lebanese people were complaining about their restrictive routines. We noticed that, for the first time ever, employers were witnessing a fraction of migrant domestic workers’ experiences. On International Domestic Workers' Day, during the imposed lockdown, we launched the campaign “End Their Lockdown”. Never had the Lebanese been better prepared to empathize with the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers who experience far worse living conditions with no rights. We saw an opportunity for ARM to redirect their message. Instead of lobbying for the law to change, we decided to target the employers, the Lebanese, that could take immediate action, in their own households and start dismantling this system from the ground up.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We illustrated how the Lebanese have come to accept modern day slavery because of the Kafala system which allows the employer to frequently abuse their power and their employees’ rights. In a moment where the Lebanese, like the rest of the world, were reeling from the frustrations of being stuck at home for months, this was the most opportune context in which to draw this parallel, to show that their workers have it much worse, and finally create awareness that can lead to change.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

On International Domestic Workers’ Day we launched a video drawing a poetic parallel between the pandemic lockdown and the equally real, and far worse lockdown migrant workers live through for years on end. Our campaign called on the Lebanese to see this parallel and commit to changes that they could make to start abolishing the Kafala system starting within their homes. We asked them to share their commitments through social media and offered steps they could take in real life like mass tweeting the labor minister to pressure them to amend the law. With influential Lebanese figures sharing our film and making their own commitments, our aim was to make people feel for the oppressed migrant workers and initiate real change by starting with themselves.

List the results (30% of vote)

During a period of two weeks, and with 0 budget: 1,539,275 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS (1/4 of the Lebanese population) $ 76,963.75 PERCEIVED MEDIA VALUE 29 of Lebanon’s most influential social personalities and pages shared our content and made individual commitments. 280% increase in followers on ARM social channels. Following the pressure ARM and other groups had done during 2020, the ministry of labor finally decided to revisit the work contract of domestic workers in August 2020.

Please tell us how you designed / adapted your campaign for the single country / region / market where it aired.

For years ARM and other NGOs had been unsuccessfully calling for the Lebanese government to abolish Kafala. Protests and calls to change the law were re-gaining momentum early 2020 and ARM wanted to make a statement. During the government-imposed lockdown, the Lebanese were for the first time prepared to empathize with the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers who experience far worse living conditions with no rights. On International Domestic Workers’ Day, right in the middle of lockdown, we saw opportunity to inspire change. Instead of lobbying for the law to change, we decided to target the employers, the Lebanese, that could take immediate action, in their own households and start dismantling this system from the ground up. The archaic law should not justify the inhumane ways some employers treated their domestic workers and should not be the only reason to force people to change their ways. Their humanity should.

Credits

Name Company Role
Malek Ghorayeb Leo Burnett Beirut Campaign supervision and conceptualization
Nada Abi Saleh Leo Burnett Beirut Campaign Supervision
Natasha Maasri Leo Burnett Beirut Conceptualization and amplification
Rana Khoury Leo Burnett Beirut Conceptualization and amplification
Noura Assaf Leo Burnett Beirut Conceptualization and execution
Nadia Deghayli Leo Burnett Beirut Conceptualization and execution
Layane Makhlouf Leo Burnett Beirut Conceptualization and execution
Mahmoud Jaber Leo Burnett Beirut Conceptualization and execution
Alisar Daher Leo Burnett Beirut Conceptualization and execution
Farah El Beaini MSL Beirut Media & PR Amplification
Layla Gaussin MSL Beirut Media & PR Amplification
Links
Social Media URL