ACT FOR THE DISAPPEARED: ENOUGH WAITING

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: ACT FOR THE DISAPPEARED
Agency: GREY
Category: Best Integrated Campaign Led by PR
Advertising campaign: ENOUGH WAITING
Copywriter: Naim Bahous (Grey Beirut)
MD: Karim Nader (Grey Beirut)
TV Producer: Rania Khoury (Grey Beirut)
CCO: Marc Chalhoub (Grey Beirut)
Digital CD: Sandra Hojeij (Grey Beirut)
Senior AD: Monique Bejjani (Grey Beirut)
CD: Rik Corijn (Grey Beirut)
ECD: Greg Majdalani (Grey Beirut)
Account Manager: Jean-Paul Moubarak (Grey Beirut)
DCO: Roy Farhat (Grey Beirut)

Strategy
With ’Enough Waiting’ as the campaign idea, a multimedia initiative was rolled out to culminate into a call upon the nation to join a march to the parliament, on november 17, and submit an official petition.

Relevancy
There were no sustained efforts by the government to actually know what happened to 17,000 disappeared.

Execution
With ’Enough Waiting’ as the campaign idea, a multimedia initiative was rolled out. It kicked off with a series of gripping TV commercials strongly highlighting the plight of those waiting. The campaign then went into outdoor and print executions. Digital media banners on key websites, redirected users to a 10-second countdown. Disappearing profile pictures on facebook marked the support of thousands, creating 15,000 likes overnight. Headlines in leading newspapers generated top stories on TV. The nation’s leading TV station dedicated, to this initiative, an entire episode of the highest rated political talk show. To prompt the government for action, we called upon the nation to join a march to the parliament, together with the families of the disappeared, on November 17. At the parliament, we put up a paneled wall. As more and more people signed on it, the faces of those who disappeared were revealed.

Effectiveness
On that day, a first-of-its-kind petition was submitted for the support of a government decree to start investigating about the disappeared. And on this very day an entire nation appeared as one, united through their support of the ‘act for the disappeared’.Disappearing profile pictures on Facebook marked the support of thousands, creating 15,000 likes overnight. Headlines in leading newspapers generated top stories on TV. The nation’s leading TV station dedicated, to this initiative, an entire episode of the highest rated political talk show.

Campaign Description
The Lebanese Civil War lasted too long, Creating a void of 17,000 - whose fate, till today, is unknown. With ’Enough Waiting’ as the campaign idea, a multimedia initiative was rolled out to encourage the government to take action, and close a dark chapter of 30 years of war.

Client Brief Or Objective
Backed by the Norwegian Ministry and the Kingdom of Netherlands, the NGO ‘act for the disappeared’ wanted to not only raise awareness of this tragedy, but also push the government to react.