Title | THE UNFILTERED HISTORY TOUR |
Brand | VICE WORLD NEWS |
Product / Service | VICE WORLD NEWS |
Category | G08. Market Disruption |
Entrant | DENTSU WEBCHUTNEY Bengaluru, INDIA |
Idea Creation | DENTSU WEBCHUTNEY Bengaluru, INDIA |
Idea Creation 2 | DENTSU WEBCHUTNEY Mumbai, INDIA |
Idea Creation 3 | DENTSU WEBCHUTNEY Gurgaon, INDIA |
Media Placement | DENTSU WEBCHUTNEY Mumbai, INDIA |
PR | DENTSU WEBCHUTNEY Mumbai, INDIA |
Production | DENTSU WEBCHUTNEY Mumbai, INDIA |
Production 2 | PIXEL PARTY New Delhi, INDIA |
Production 3 | VICE MEDIA London, UNITED KINGDOM |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Gautam Reghunath | Dentsu Creative | Head of Business |
Aditiya P.G. | Dentsu Creative | Head of Creative |
Gurbaksh Singh | Dentsu Creative | Innovation Lead |
Binaifer Dulani | Dentsu Creative | Creative Lead |
Karishma Changroth | Dentsu Creative | Project Lead |
Ashwin Palkar | Dentsu Creative | Creative Head - Art |
Kushal Lalvani | Dentsu Creative | Copy Lead |
Aabhaas Shreshtha | Dentsu Creative | Creative - Art |
Anjali Thomas | Dentsu Creative | Account Manager |
Geetika Sood | Dentsu Creative | Creative Producer |
Niranjan Raghu | Dentsu Creative | Video Lead |
Manish Joseph | Dentsu Creative | Motion Graphics Lead |
Ishtaarth Dalmia | Dentsu Creative | Strategist |
Ananya S Rao | Dentsu Creative | Strategist |
Meghna Yesudas | Dentsu Creative | Social Lead |
Shaleen Wadhwana | Consultant | Research Consultant |
Shreya Vivek Arora | Dentsu Creative | Senior Art Director |
Tanya Paul | Dentsu Creative | Senior Art Director |
Vignesh Praveen | Dentsu Creative | Animation and Video Production |
Manasi Sheth | Dentsu Creative | Art Director |
Rakesh Bairwa | Dentsu Creative | Lead Web Developer |
Rahul Sharma | Dentsu Creative | Web Developer |
Gerson Pearson | Dentsu Creative | Video and Mixed Reality Producer |
Priyanka Borah | Dentsu Creative | Business Lead |
Stuti Sudha | Dentsu Creative | Copywriter |
Amey Chodankar | Dentsu Creative | Creative - Art |
Karthik Nambiar | Dentsu Creative | Creative - Art |
Farishte Irani | Dentsu Creative | Auxiliary Copy Support |
Vaishakh Kolaprath | Dentsu Creative | Art Director |
Ronak Chugh | Rooted Films LLP | Films |
Sameer Rahat | Consultant | Music Composer |
Jeremy Pinto | Vivi5 Studios | Motion Graphics |
Manas Sharma | Vivi5 Studios | Motion Graphics |
Mehul Mahicha | Vivi5 Studios | Motion Graphics |
Ateesh Chattopadhyay | Consultant | . |
Prashant Bhikadia | Consultant | . |
Sachin Ghanekar | Consultant | . |
Emi Eleode | Consultant | . |
Shanel Moraes | Consultant | . |
For centuries, the British Museum has put forth an imperialist narrative surrounding the acquisition of its disputed artefacts, aided by a mainstream narrative pushed by all major press outlets. The Unfiltered History Tour is an alternative interactive tour of the British Museum’s disputed artefacts. 10 native experts play tour guide in narrating the true histories of artefacts from their homelands - a first for marginalised communities to express the intergenerational trauma inflicted upon them by centuries of colonial oppression. And for a younger readership to embrace these issues beyond news headlines and hot takes on social media.
Situation The British Museum is the world’s largest receiver of stolen goods with over 8 million objects - that’s a lot of looted artefacts. For centuries, we’ve only heard the imperialist version of how they got there. An equitable environment will be created when silenced voices express the intergenerational trauma caused by colonial loot. Brief To place VICE World News at the forefront of conversations around colonialism and challenge dominant cultures by opening up dialogue to countries around the world to create a balance in the way history has been told. Objectives 1. Give a platform to underrepresented minority voices to share their accounts of artefacts that belong to their country. 2. Re-ignite the ongoing conversation on repatriation and postcolonialism on social media, with VICE championing marginalised voices. 3. Educate young people about the untold side of history using a tool as accessible as Instagram filters to tell unfiltered stories.
The Unfiltered History Tour is a guerrilla tour of the British Museum’s disputed artefacts carried out via Instagram filters by making use of Augmented Reality. However, instead of adding dog ears to a selfie, the same technology was re-engineered to scan and identify life-sized 3D artefacts in differing light conditions throughout the day, to showcase first-ever visual depictions of scenes of colonial crime. We created Instagram Filters that scan 10 heavily disputed artefacts on display at the Museum. From Egyptologists, to the seventh descendant of the Gweagal Shield, to the Governor of Rapa Nui - 10 experts play tour guide in narrating the true histories of artefacts from their homelands. Those who aren’t at the Museum can unfilter history with immersive audio-video experiences and extended podcasts detailing the stories of colonial crime, hosted on the Unfiltered History Tour website and all major audio platforms.
Data gathering In consultation with an art historian, disputed artefacts with an imperialist narrative were chosen, with equal representation from - Jamaica, Easter Island, Egypt, Greece, Nigeria, Ghana, Iraq, India, China and Australia. Target audience We took a social-first approach and spoke to young people on platforms they were most likely to take notice - Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, Apple Music and other audio platforms. Approach Authenticity was at the forefront of the project, in collaboration with native experts from 10 countries who presented a side of history never heard before. This approach went against the mainstream narrative around colonial artefacts pushed by major publications and the Museum itself. Call to action Visitors to the British Museum were invited to experience another side of history by taking the Unfiltered History Tour. And people across the globe could unfilter history through an immersive audio and video experience.
Implementation: The Instagram filters were developed by a 100-person strong team working remotely for 18 months across 10 time zones. A local team in London gathered data using LiDAR technology (Light Detection and Ranging), initially developed for military usage. AR technicians accounted for changing light conditions inside the museum by developing an Instagram filter based on real-time weather to dynamically adapt to the changing environment at the museum, in a first of its kind Instagram Filter that blends satellite data with Augmented Reality. Timeline Launched in December 2021. Placement Instagram Augmented Reality filters to be scanned by visitors at the British Museum, through their phones. Scale Every Museum visitor can take the Tour from their phones, revealing the true history of disputed artefacts. Those not at the Museum could still partake in immersive audio-visual experiences and extended podcasts hosted on The Unfiltered History Tour microsite.
In its first month, the campaign has seen: Earned media worth $631K 32 million social impressions 40% rise in TikTok followers 49% increase in total impressions on Instagram 21,583 podcast downloads and 5,200 filter uses (in 30 days) Change in Behaviour: According to a 2014 survey, 59% of Britons were proud of the British Empire. In a poll conducted weeks after the Tour was launched, 59% of Britons said they believed the Parthenon Marbles (part of the Tour) belonged in Greece, a sharp turn in the opposite direction. The podcast series let us go a lot deeper with the project and give audiences something heavily educational, not found in British history textbooks. What some users had to say after taking the tour: “Clever and a brilliant way of teaching historical reality” “Confronts and challenges colonial origins.” “Hearing the past told by multiple perspectives gives depth.” “A much needed resource.”
VICE World News is a newly formed brand, to provide global news reporting for young audiences internationally. In order to grow their cross-platform audience significantly year on year, we needed to cut-through a crowded media environment. The Unfiltered History Tour tackled the marketing challenge of developing awareness and consumption by using a unique format (Augmented Reality backed by journalistic reporting) which captured their audience’s attention. Providing a platform for underrepresented minority voices, allowed VICE World News to travel to Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Jamaica, Rapa Nui, Iraq, India and several other countries. They were also able to provide a deeply authentic, international perspective which can often be lost in mainstream news reporting around repatriation of the British Museum’s objects. The podcast series allows users to delve deeper with something heavily educational, moving listeners beyond the habit of simply reacting to news events through headlines and hot takes on social media.