The Brief

The Crutch Chair was designed to share the plight of landmine victims. Each chair is symbolically crippled by a missing leg—yet held up by a crutch. The writing surface carries the story of a victim, hosting a video that links back to Handicap International’s donation portal. Placed in classrooms, the chair spoke to affluent youths. As they studied, interacted with or sat on the chairs, they experienced for themselves the first-person perspective of the child landmine survivor and could share his or her story, spread the story and also donate to the cause – all within the screens of their mobile phones.

Creative Execution

We wanted to literally take the problem into the classroom itself—and there was no better way to get ourselves in than to disguise our engagement vehicle as a piece of school furniture. The Crutch Chair was built around a school icon—the school chair. Each chair is symbolically crippled by a missing leg—yet held up by a crutch. By attaching the crutch to the crippled chair, it becomes sturdy again – a physical manifestation of Handicap International’s belief that the right support can make a big difference. Placed in classrooms, the chair spoke to affluent youths – students who understood the importance of education. As they studied, interacted with or sat on the chairs, they experienced for themselves the first-person perspective of whichever child landmine survivor was tagged to the chair.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Landmines are a distant danger for the target audience who live in affluent societies. Our youth—millennial—are distracted by more contemporary and popular issues. Action—such as donations—were a secondary goal. We first needed to capture their attention, and harness their social media savvy to efficiently spread the word for us.

Results

The campaign organically made the leap into the mass media and consciousness, with leading national daily The Straits Times featuring it prominently in an article on banning landmines. Shared and talked about on social networks, awareness is surging through our target audience of students and youth, ensuring the topic is once again prominent and relevant to our next generation of leaders. Donations to Handicap International have also spiked since the Crutch Chair was introduced, helping survivors get back on their feet—through prosthetic fittings and continuing education.