Mother's Amnesty ad scoops October Thinkboxes award
LONDON - An Amnesty International ad showing how ordinary people can prevent human-rights abuse has been voted the October winner of the Thinkboxes creative awards.
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The 90-second ad, created by Mother and directed by Kim Gehrig through Academy Films, carries the strapline "You are powerful" and shows a range of ordinary people physically preventing human rights abuse.
It follows seven people, including a father, a young teenager, an elderly woman and a pregnant woman, intervening in situations of human rights violence and abuse.
The ad was first screened during Amnesty's comedy fundraising event the 2008 Secret Policeman's Ball, staged at the Royal Albert Hall on October 4.
It also aired without any Amnesty branding during the event's television broadcast on Channel 4.
Matthias Stock, brand planner at Amnesty International, said that the aim of the film was to make an impact at the ball and at future Amnesty events.
The film will launch online on December 10 and Amnesty is aiming to secure donated media space in order to roll out a branded version on TV and in cinemas.
Amnesty's ad was voted October winner of the Thinkboxes ahead of Barclaycard's "waterslide" and VW Tiguan's "Walter".
Stock said: "We wanted to inspire people to use their voice to effect change. The key insight behind the film was telling people that they can be powerful -- you just have to believe it."
To see the full shortlist go to www.thinkbox.tv/thethinkboxes.
Amnesty: October Thinkboxes winner
Comments
Andy Knell - 25/11/2008
This would have been more powerful had these 'real people' actually been real, had such individuals been identified, found and featured, rather than artificially inserted into the ad this would have had greater resonance.
Oliver Gandy - 25/11/2008
Andy - it's a metaphor. Cleary Amnesty supporters don't walk in the way of a firing squad. But by working with Amnesty \(e.g. as part of their urgent action network), they can affect change.
Jon Haywood - 25/11/2008
I think the ordinary viewer will see these examples as 'real'. Having tried to source real stories for the British Army Campaign 'Send your message to the best..." finding such examples is am extremely difficult task in itself.
A Y - 26/11/2008
I completely agree with Andy Knell! All you need is 1 real person who stood up against the powers that be... even if he/ she died as a result of it. We live in a real world that real aggression exists. We don't need an "award-winning" ad to gardner yet another "yeah, right... now where's the bloody remote?" If amnesty supporters don't walk in the way of the firing squad like they should... they'd just be sitting by the tv, asking for more donations so they get someone else to maybe sit by the office of the firing squad, filling up a form "suggesting" for the injustice not to be done? Affect change? Who are we kidding? Yeah, right... ordinary viewers WILL SEE these examples as "REAL"... sure, people dressed up posing in front of the camera, cutting into scenes with special effects, eventually posing again and telling everyone that "YOU" are powerful... sure, they convince me to get up and do stuff... like Advertising Neverland??!! Finding real examples ARE extremely difficult, that's why they're all the more powerful. Lame excuses stop short... period. I'm sure real people looking at the gun barrels of the firing squad appreciate the award like you advertising folks do... sure...