TRIAL BY TIMELINE

Short List
TitleTRIAL BY TIMELINE
BrandAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Product / ServiceAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
CategoryA08. Broadcast Design and Graphics & Digital Design
EntrantCOLENSO BBDO Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Entrant Company COLENSO BBDO Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Advertising Agency COLENSO BBDO Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Credits

Name Company Position
Anita Harvey Amnesty International Nz Media/Communications Manager
Rebecca Emery Amnesty International Nz Deputy Director ( Campaigns/Research/Advocacy/Communications)
Scott Wilson Assembly Animation - Designer
Matt Von Trott Assembly Animation - Design Lead
Amanda Chambers Assembly Animation - Executive Producer
James Mcmullan Colenso Bbdo Agency Producer
Hayley Pardoe Colenso Bbdo Planner
Eileen Cosgrove-Moloney Colenso Bbdo Account Executive
Helen Fitzsimons Colenso Bbdo Account Director
Ben Polkinghorne Colenso Bbdo Copywriter
Anna Stickley Colenso Bbdo Art Director
Dan Wright Colenso Bbdo Digital Creative Director/Art Director
Levi Slavin Colenso Bbdo Creative Director
Nick Worthington Colenso Bbdo Creative Chairman

Brief Explanation

To increase awareness and support, we wanted all Kiwis to experience what it might be like to live without basic human rights. We turned to Facebook as the place where so many of us freely express ourselves and share our lives. We launched Trial by Timeline: a Facebook application that scans your Timeline activity and shows what your behaviour would have cost you around the world, just for being you. It searches everything you've ever liked or posted. It studies your profile, age, nationality, relationship status, and political views. Then sentences you to real punishments. Finally, it asks you to use your freedom to help free others by showing your support to Amnesty International.

The Brief

Through sheer luck, New Zealanders live in the freest country on Earth. We're afforded the freedom to be ourselves - to say what we're thinking, wear what we want, choose our own friends; freedoms we take for granted. Yet, in a country as fortunate as ours, Amnesty International - a global movement standing up for human rights - is understood and supported by only a small few. How do we get as many New Zealanders as possible to understand the work that Amnesty do and feel it relevant enough for them to show their support?

How the final design was conceived

Today, many people's lives are documented along the vertical, scrolling Facebook timeline. We wanted to show that were it not for good luck, those lives could look very different. So we set out to create a more sinister version of the iconic timeline. One where the line at times became chalk on a prison wall, and at times blood running from a gunshot wound. Amnesty International's own black and yellow identity supplied a striking palette, which allowed us to visualize acts of terrible violence with impact, while avoiding the grotesque. A scattering of people's personal photographs added to the intrusion.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

Our New Zealand project is in its infancy, but has already gathered global traction. We have reached 15 million people with Trial by Timeline. Daily visits have topped 17,000 and over 200 countries have taken part. The average time spent on this site is over 7 minutes and 10% of total users have shared this via Facebook or Twitter. Amnesty sections in Sweden, Turkey, South Korea, Denmark and Norway have requested translations of the software. Closer to home, Trial by Timeline has received coverage across all national media channels, trended on Twitter and was advocated by local celebrities and influential bloggers alike. Most importantly, we’ve increased Amnesty International NZ’s Facebook community by more than 500%.