WORDS CAN BE WEAPONS

Silver Spike

Case Film

Presentation Board

TitleWORDS CAN BE WEAPONS
BrandCENTER FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH, SHENYANG
Product / ServiceCENTER FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH, SHENYANG
CategoryB05. Fundraising, charities, appeals, non-profit organisations, public health & safety, public awareness
EntrantOGILVY BEIJING, CHINA
Entrant Company OGILVY BEIJING, CHINA
Advertising Agency OGILVY BEIJING, CHINA
Production Company T.B.FILMS ADVERTISING Beijing, CHINA

Credits

Name Company Position
Graham Fink Ogilvy Beijing Creative Director
Juggi Ramakrishnan Ogilvy Beijing Creative Director
Xingsheng Qi Ogilvy Beijing Creative Director
Wilson Chow Ogilvy Beijing Creative Director
Doug Schiff Ogilvy Beijing Creative Director
Yong Xie Shenyang University Designer
Juggi Ramakrishnan Ogilvy Beijing Copywriter
Wilson Chow Ogilvy Beijing Copywriter
Guilin Bo Ogilvy Beijing Copywriter
Chuyu Li Ogilvy Beijing Copywriter
Xingsheng Qi Ogilvy Beijing Art Director
Xiaodong Xiao Ogilvy Beijing Art Director
Lei Fu Ogilvy Beijing Art Director
Kaixin Li Ogilvy Beijing Art Director
Yong Xie Ogilvy Beijing Art Director
Fei Wang Ogilvy Beijing Art Director
Morris Ku Ogilvy Beijing Video Editor
Rita Yang Ogilvy Beijing Innovative Digital Planner/Producer
Quetina Yang Ogilvy Beijing Innovative Digital Planner/Producer
Jason Wee Ogilvy Beijing Website Designer

The Brief

The Center for Psychological Research, Shenyang, is a government body that is concerned about the rise of juvenile crime in the country. Their studies show a strong link between juvenile crime and childhood emotional abuse. Their psychologists believe that children subjected to verbal abuse can suffer from more serious psychiatric problems in later life than children subjected to physical violence. Our brief was to get the parents and teachers of Shenyang to understand that verbal abuse can have serious consequences for their children in later life.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

The word-weapons and their accompanying videos brought to light the dangers of verbal abuse. Parents and teachers who attended the exhibition were engaged by the metal words, and actively interacted with them, transforming them into weapons. Meanwhile, the stories behind each weapon proved to be very thought provoking.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The word-weapons were shown at a two-day public exhibition, between March 26 and 27, 2014 in Shenyang. Over 600 people took part in the event directly and interacted with the weapons. The event was covered by local TV channels. The weapons were also made available on touchscreens and tablets. 326 calls were made to the campaign helpline in the first few weeks. The campaign’s Weibo topic page created over 310,000 impressions in the first month. Over 30 websites (including China government official websites) carried reports of the event. And total reach from the event exceeded 3.2 million people.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

This idea connects cause and the effect, the cause being sustained verbal and emotional abuse during childhood, and the ultimate effect being juvenile crime. We connected the two with word-weapons that demonstrated vividly what verbal abuse could do. Our target parents and teachers could touch and feel these words and turn them into weapons themselves while the meaning slowly sunk in.