This past semester I had the opportunity to study abroad in London, and travel across twelve other countries in Europe. The last stop on my four-month long trip was to none other than, Berlin, Germany. Filled with rich culture, Berlin holds the Berlin Wall, is an access point to many concentration and death camps part of the Nazi History, and has a diverse offering of food, culture, and people. When thinking about what advertisement to write about, I stumbled upon an ad that manipulated photo booths in Germany to spread awareness about domestic violence.
The photoautomat is a symbol of Germany, and is basically posted everywhere. But who knew a simple photo booth could turn into something as powerful as this campaign.
Target: Spreading awareness to the general public who may not be aware of how serious domestic violence is. Also, to comfort and identify with women who may have been affected by this issue.
Insight: People are misinformed about major issues such as domestic violence, but can be re-informed through a popular icon such as the photoautomat is for Germany. They often ignore statistical information but are more willing to remember stats if presented in a creative way.
Brand Idea/Positioning: The Berlin DDB office partnered with a women's group, Terre Des Femme, in order to spread awareness through facial recognition software. The work was designed to manipulate a photo to show domestic abuse, and to show how serious the issue is in Germany.
Objective: To raise awareness that one in four women in Germany are affected by domestic abuse.
Strengths: I love how this campaign was released on international women's day because it is such a powerful message to send to people on a day where many people are fighting for women's rights. The facts surrounding domestic violence are HUGE. Not only is it an issue in Germany, but around the world it has been a problem year after year. Human trafficking, forced prostitution, abuse at home are only some of the problem many women face at home. This simple project that manipulated photo booth images proved to be a moving point for people. One person even teared in the campaign video - perhaps she was a victim of domestic violence or knew someone. I believe that this campaign has the power to be globally effective.
Weaknesses: I would love to see the statistics of awareness prior and then after this project. The photoautomat, although popular in Germany can only inform a certain number of people. Furthermore, the project seemed to be small-scale as only one booth was altered to manipulate the final images of people. It would be interesting to run a similar project in the US to compare and contrast the differences in awareness surrounding the issues in different societies.
I'm assuming that the budget for the program was not large enough to alter all photoautomat booths in Germany. And although it was a small-scale project, it helped to inform people in a way that captured their attention. Yes, statistics are factual and sometimes helpful...but the general public (including myself) would love to be informed through a innovative way such as this campaign.
Watch the video here:
Wanna read more about the project?
http://www.adweek.com/creativity/this-photo-booth-surprised-women-with-pictures-that-mirror-domestic-violence-statistics/