Amnesty and iO celebrate the right to protest
With the motto "Protect the Protest", Amnesty International Flanders and iO act with intent in their choice of a positive message: progress through peaceful protest.
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Protect the Protest. That is the core message of a new TV commercial that illustrates how historic protests were key to achieving the basic human rights we take for granted today.
"Amnesty's brief was as simple as it was complex," said Sam De Win, Executive Creative Director at iO. "The NGO wanted a campaign to portray protest not as a risk to society, but as a source of progress. After all, the right to peaceful protest has changed the world and remains a crucial driver for social justice."
Under the motto 'Protect the Protest', iO and Amnesty International Flanders are going all in with a positive message: that peaceful protest drives progress. The commercial does not depict violent confrontations but focuses on the results of determined actions: the right to vote, the right to marriage for all, the 8-hour working day, and so many other achievements that would have been impossible without protest.
"No matter how you look at it, protesting is never pointless," Sam De Win continues. "From the suffragettes who fought for the right to vote, to today's youth climate activists: without protest there is no progress. This insight is at the heart of our campaign."
The TV commercial was made in close collaboration with director Jef Boes:
"We wanted to make a film that makes the impact of protest tangible, without falling into classic demonstration clichés. There are no megaphones or mass demonstrations; we are focusing on the real consequences of protest: happy people who now live with rights that were achieved through protest."
In addition to its online showcase, 'Protect the Protest' will be broadcast on prime-time slots on VRT 1 free of charge, for a week from 10 March.
"VRT offers free airtime to an NGO with a strong social story every year. We are happy that we were able to sway the jury with this message: protest is not a threat, but a fundamental right that helps us to drive progress," concludes Eleni Verschaeve, Amnesty International.
Media
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Video 'Protect the Protest': https://youtu.be/tmUlQV_12sU
Client: Amnesty International
Client contact: Eleni Verschaeve
Agency: iO
Executive Creative Director: Sam De Win
Creatives: Sam De Win & Ivan Moons
Account: Ena Stevens
Production: ILA Studio
Producer: Maxine Lodeweyckx
Director: Jef Boes
Dop: Ivo Nelis
Animator: Thomas Van Geel @ Visuals International
Editor: Lieven Dooms @ FRAMES
1AD: Martine Temmerman
1AC: Calder Cosyn
Gaffer: Dries De Paepe
Light Assistant: Louis Philippe Beauduin
Digi: Ushua Goeminne
Grip: Lester Otten
Decor: Studio Woot
Stylist: Sarah Roelstraete
H&MU: Karen
Car handler: Onno Hesselink
Production Assistent: Alexia De Splenter
Online: Visuals Internationals - FRAMES Postproduction
Post Producer: Jelle Robbeets
Stockimages: Shutterstock - ArtGrid
Music & Sound Design: Raygun
Vo: Wouter Hendrickx Cast: Adbel, Lies, Aya, Mary-Lou, Ioannis, Thomas, Marymene, Monique, Lamin.
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