#BEATME

Silver Spike

Case Film

Presentation Image

Title#BEATME
BrandUN WOMEN
Product / ServiceANTI-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS
CategoryD01. Social Video
EntrantBBDO 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

Credits

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

The Campaign

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.

Creative Execution

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

Links

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