The Campaign

A pop-up art exhibition titled “Can You Keep A Secret?” appeared at a prominent spot in a well-frequented mall one day, displaying a series of ceramic busts of smiling ladies. Each of them with a story to tell. We invited visitors to peer into their heads or listen to their voices through headphones, revealing the reality behind the facade. Though their real faces remained anonymous, we recorded the voices of the actual abused women wherever possible. It was the first time they were able to speak ‘publicly’ about their plights.

Creative Execution

Ceramic: a challenging but perfect material The sculpting material for the busts was chosen for a reason. Ceramic looks strong but is fragile. This perfectly mirrored the state of many abused women: strong and smiling on the surface, but secretly threatened and vulnerable. How, when and where This low-budget campaign began small, with 12 hand-sculpted busts on display from 1 July to 25 September 2015. Putting on the attached headphones lets you hear each woman’s confession. There is also a small hole in the back so one can peer into the woman’s head to see her dark secret. These ceramic ladies made their first appearance a shopping mall that often hosts arts and cultural events. However, they were not placed in one of the mall’s designated galleries but out in the open – fitting, as we wanted to expose the truth of domestic violence and bring it out of enclosed spaces into the light.

Results

The promise of an intriguing story and hearing someone’s secrets was an attractive lure, and passers-by were drawn in without much effort. The level of engagement and emotional impact was deeper than if we had used more in-your-face advertising methods, with many of the visitors sharing their own insights and changed perspectives (for a few such testimonials/reactions, please view the case study video). Their empathy led to a desire for action – all the leaflets with WAO’s hotline number were picked up without any prompting. • The campaign generated over RM1,000,000 worth of unpaid PR • There was an increase in call-ins by 20% to WAO during the campaign period • WAO’s Facebook page got 35% more Likes within the month • At the end of the exhibition, the ceramic busts were auctioned off for a total of RM42,000, with all profits going to WAO’s campaign against domestic violence

Malaysians tend to treat domestic abuse as a personal problem – to be resolved within the family circle. What more in cases of emotional and sexual abuse where it’s considered a private matter between spouses. And female sufferers are more likely to not only self-blame but be more forgiving, more resilient, enduring their situation in often stoic silence. We needed to bridge this gap between these women and the larger community; between personal and public. To pull people in to hear their stories in a way that is inviting rather than aggressive.

INSIGHT: The general perception of abuse sufferers is that they dare not report their partners due to fear or weakness. When in fact, there are other factors too: not wanting to shame their families, not having a trusted confidante due to being socially isolated by their abusive partner, etc. We needed to garner public empathy. To make them see why these women are often unable to take action on their own, and the importance of acting on their behalf. APPROACH: Malaysians have a natural curious ‘busybody’ streak. But if something is overtly disturbing, they tend to turn the other cheek – what more with problems in the realm of the private domestic sphere. This exhibit was designed to leverage on people’s curiosity and tell these stories in a way that is inviting rather than aggressive. Once people heard the truth, it would be much harder to turn a deaf ear.