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 with a film during the International Week of Elimination of Violence Against Women, following it with personal stories of these women about their achievements and struggles. Strategically placed posters were spread through major cities; for e.g. track star Naseem Hameed's poster went up next to a running track challenging men to beat her record time. Activation components were set up in parks, challenging men to beat the record 100m time set by a Pakistani woman. A similar activity was set up as a squash tournament, in which we partnered with a female squash star disguised as a boy, who defeated every man that volunteered to play against her. The resulting experiences at these activations were used as online content and were instrumental in showcasing a change in men's mindsets and awareness.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

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.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

This highly integrated anti-domestic violence campaign featured an activation component that targeted men directly, turning it into online content. The campaign had several touch-points targeting various backgrounds: film, outdoor posters, activation stunts, a direct ambient piece, film screenings, online postings, short documentaries, and personal visits to shelters. The activation leg was instrumental in recording a shift in awareness and mindset through an experiential activity.

We had discovered a study conducted by the government claiming that 34% of 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