The Campaign

Australia was known as the land of the ‘fair go’ – where everyone had the right to a fair chance in life. Recently however, protection of the most basic human rights was being ignored at a personal, national and political level. Maurice Blackburn Lawyers wanted to show Australians it was time to stand up for fairness. To reclaim the ‘fair go’, they needed to defend the rights of strangers’ as much as their own, or risk the loss of everyone’s fundamental freedoms. We gave people who had never experienced social injustice, the chance to learn of its imperative to a fair and just society for all, through the stories of the people it had affected most. YOUR RIGHT IS MY RIGHT gave 36 everyday, and 6 high-profile Australians, with personal stories of social injustice a voice, and in doing so, rallied the nation to fight for a ‘fair go’ for

Creative Execution

The campaign launched in cinema, television and online with a film featuring 36 everyday Australians who have personally experienced social injustice. It was voiced by Michael Caton, star of The Castle, and Australia’s original underdog. The film was shot across 17 locations, including real political marches in the lead up to the Federal Election, trade union rallies, and the homes and workplaces of our cast. Deeper stories were told through a partnership with renowned US storytelling organisation, The Moth. We brought them to Australia for the first time to workshop the personal stories of 12 everyday and high-profile Australians. These stories were shared live at a special media event in Sydney, and nationally via a top 5 podcast. A partnership with The Guardian saw them come to life through bespoke video, editorial and animated content. Online films following the stories of the everyday Australians were shared in owned channels.

Results

The campaign was their most successful campaign ever. Mass awareness was delivered through: • 15 million earned media impressions • High quality editorial coverage from Australia’s top publications including the Australian Financial Review, SBS, The Guardian and The Age • 9.3 million total video views • 200,000 podcast downloads hitting number 5 in the podcasts chart The campaign succeeded in positioning the firm as Australia’s leading social justice law firm with: • 29% stronger link to social justice than any other law firm 62% increase in understanding the impact of social injustice and it’s imperative to a ‘fair go’ for all. The most staggering results were, despite avoiding typical legal advertising jargon such as, ‘No Win, No Fee’ or featuring the firm’s phone number for the first time ever, the campaign resulted in: • 92% increase in site traffic during the campaign period; • 32% increase in telephone enquiries

Your Right Is My Right, from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, is a powerful rallying cry to agitate apathetic Australians into engaging with the social injustices affecting the people in their communities. With newsfeeds flooded by disturbing national stories: unlawful incarceration of Indigenous people; unfair detention of refugees; gender pay gap; brutal border-force act; and violence against women, everyday people had switched off. The campaign was designed to incite action by driving awareness of the importance of confronting these issues, and invoking a movement towards demanding the legal right to getting a fair chance, whoever, however, wherever you are.

We undertook research to establish Australia’s attitude towards social justice and discovered that despite 96% of people agreeing it was important, only 16% believed they lived in a fair and just society. Furthermore, our audience of everyday Australians, could not see the relation between injustices that affected minorities, having the potential to affect them too. Inspired by the words of Martin Luther King, “Injustice there is bad for justice here,” our approach was to demonstrate that ignoring a small number of people’s rights wasn’t just unfair or unlawful, it was a risk to our own rights too. As champions of fairness for all, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers set out to prove that justice is not a privilege, it is universal right. The call to action was simply to stand up for your own rights to a fair go, by standing up for the rights of others. YOUR RIGHT IS MY RIGHTwasborn.