Pictures that speak 1000 words
Searching for a new way to reach the Australian public, the United Nations needed something big. With talking posters and an online campaign to match, the ‘UN Voices Project’ delivered a ‘groundbreaking’ campaign that integrated technology and print media in a way not seen before
Submitted
10/28/2009
By
actnow
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796
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Updated
12/2/2009
Photographer : UN Voices Campaign
The United Nations were on a mission to get the Australian public thinking seriously about inclusion and equality in our society. To do this, they needed an advertising campaign that both impressed and intrigued people. The result was the ‘UN Voices Project’, the first UN campaign to unite a number of the UN’s causes. The campaign used a combination of new and old advertising mediums in order to educate the public and get them talking about social justice, as well as do a bit of fundraising on the side.
Print media that talks?
The campaign created a stir amongst advertising circles by combining outdoor posters, mobile technology and websites. Portraits were plastered all over the nation as outdoor posters and in newspapers inviting the Australian public to engage with the stories of seven different Australians from minority and marginalized groups. The campaign asked the public to ‘listen to me.’ That is, use a mobile phone to take a photo of the person’s mouth in the advertisement and then send the photo to the number listed on the poster. The sender then received a call back almost immediately with a pre-recorded message from the person they had photographed. The call back charge was then instantly donated to the UN.
The playback was the person’s ‘story,’ it talked about their lives and the issues they faced. At the end of the recording, listeners were invited to visit a website to hear other stories, including other user’s comments, and to add your own voice to the mix. Through inviting users to leave their own thoughts, and read those of others, the Voices Project became a conversation. It turned seven voices into thousands and sparked an ongoing dialogue about equality in Australian society.
Check out the process below to see it in action:
UN Voices from ourentries on Vimeo.
The people behind the pictures
The campaign featured Loula, a domestic violence survivor; Shannon, an Aboriginal youth worker and activist; Tony, a homeless man; Foday, a refugee from Western Africa; Nada, a Muslim Australian; Nathan, a 13-year-old born with HIV; and Uncle Max, an Aboriginal elder.
Each individual represented a group in Australia whose stories are often ignored. The ‘UN Voices Project’ gives these people a chance to, quite literally, tell their story in the public arena. In the words of the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, the advertising company behind the campaign, ‘the voices of this campaign tell an Australian story that is completely outside the experience of most people. It’s easy to tune out, to ignore the fact that many Australians face a life in which they suffer abuse, poverty or neglect.’ Not only are the stories of the seven individuals being heard, but we are being reminded of the need to give a voice to those who normally go unheard.
Something old, something new
Of course, many online campaigns have had their print counterparts. But this campaign isn’t about counterparts, and that’s what makes it so different. The ‘UN Voices Project’ integrates print media with the online so that they cannot fully operate without each other.
While this sort of inventiveness might get you attention, the golden rule of relevance should always reign. As Paul Worboys from Saatchi & Saatchi commented, ‘Technology for technology’s sake is just not relevant today.’ Using fancy technology just because you can will mean your message gets lost in the medium. The ‘UN Voices Project’ demonstrates how organizations can use technology appropriately, to strengthen a message and to present it in a new and engaging way.
