Title | #BEATME |
Brand | UN WOMEN |
Product / Service | ANTI-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS |
Category | D01. Social Video |
Entrant | BBDO PAKISTAN Lahore, PAKISTAN |
Idea Creation | BBDO PAKISTAN Lahore, PAKISTAN |
Media Placement | BBDO PAKISTAN Lahore, PAKISTAN |
PR | BBDO PAKISTAN Lahore, PAKISTAN |
Production | AZADFILM Karachi, PAKISTAN |
Production 2 | THE VIDEOGRAPHERS Lahore, PAKISTAN |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Ali Rez | Impact BBDO / BBDO Pakistan | Regional Creative Director |
Assam Khalid | BBDO Pakistan | Creative Director |
Faisal Durrani | BBDO Pakistan | Managing Director |
Hira Mohibullah | BBDO Pakistan | Creative Director |
Aamna Rahim | BBDO Pakistan | Senior Creative Manager |
Huma Mobin | BBDO Pakistan | Creative Manager |
Haroon Rashid | BBDO Pakistan | Senior Art Director |
Haseeb Akram | BBDO Pakistan | Art Director |
Moiz Khan | BBDO Pakistan | Digital Creative Group Head |
Idrees Hussain | BBDO Pakistan | Account Director |
Jamayal Tanweer | BBDO Pakistan | Digital Buisness Director |
Shah Zeb Hussain | BBDO Pakistan | Art Director |
Insiya Syed | Insiya Syed | Photographer |
Mian Aleem Ali | BBDO Pakistan | Production Designer |
Zohaib Kazi | Zohaib Kazi | Producer |
Natasha Ijaz | AUDIO DNA | Music Director |
Atif Pasha | BBDO Pakistan | Production Manager |
Maida Azmat | Maida Azmat | PR Coordinator |
Maram and Abroo | Maram and Aabroo Salon | Make up |
Nabila | Nabila's | Make up |
Assam Khalid | BBDO Pakistan | Strategy Planning Director |
Ali Rez | Impact BBDO / BBDO Pakistan | Creative Director |
UN Women decided to do the opposite of what was expected from a women’s rights campaign. In response to the ruling of men being allowed to beat their wives, we built the first anti-domestic violence campaign in the world that INVITED men to beat women. But at things they were good at. We cleverly startled the viewer by using the double meaning behind the term “beat,” transforming it from a violent, submissive suggestion to an empowered, inspiring one. The campaign showcased strong Pakistani women with the script not only building on their strength, but cleverly relating it to various forms of abuse. A famous singer therefore challenges verbal abuse, saying “Beat with me your voice”, a marathon winner challenges physical abuse saying “Beat me with your feet”. And so on.
We launched on social media with the powerful online film during International Week of Elimination of Violence Against Women, following it with online documentary personal stories of these women's achievements and struggles. Seeded online posts and memes drove our message further. Activation components were set up in parks, challenging men to beat track star Naseem Hameed's record 100m time, the content being shared online in further social media posts. A similar activity was set up as a squash tournament, in which a female squash star disguised as a boy defeated every man that volunteered to play against her. Again, incredible content in which we recorded men admitting that women are unbeatable. The film was screened in various locations ranging from the United Nations building in New York to violence shelters in villages.
With a $0 media budget, the video racked up 2 million organic views in the first week alone(i), 296 million earned impressions(ii) and an estimated $118 million in earned media. Celebrities, talk show hosts and parliamentarians - both men and women - took up the issue. The topic of violence against women started trending in Pakistan(iii), while also being showcased on prominent global media, contributing to domestic pressure. The Pakistani government has worked in parallel to set up the largest violence against women centre in South Asia, and implemented a new women protection law (iv) The conversation became viral and we noticed a cultural mind-shift: portrayal of women in the media has started to change from weak to powerful. Ultimately, UN Women changed Pakistani men’s perception about women and inspired a large number of Pakistani women to stand up to abuse; women who now know they are unbeatable.
We had discovered a study conducted by the government claiming that 34% of Pakistani men thought it’s okay to beat women, but even more surprisingly 42% of women thought the same, which is why it became a challenge to not only talk to the men but also the women. Throughout media, TV plays, ads, and films, the role of women is limited to the stereotypes where she’s the imperfect, incapable powerless victim. Even anti-domestic violence campaigns in Pakistan made the woman feel weaker, further adding to the problem. This was the first time the scenario had been flipped to represent the Pakistani woman as a strong, empowered achiever who is able enough to challenge a man rather than be a submissive, weaker person she’s often made to believe. *(i) http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR290/FR290.pdf