Troy Davis – I am alive | Coalition to Abolish The Death Penalty

Background

Alive e.V. was a non-profit organization committed to the universal abolition of the death penalty. The task was to develop an attention-getting campaign that raised awareness about the inhumanity and injustice of the death penalty, and which would generate donations.

Idea

The inhumanity of the death penalty was dramatised through the tragic example of Troy Davis. Davis had been sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer. He was executed by lethal injection in September 2011 despite serious doubts about his guilt and despite worldwide protest.

In this campaign, Davis was brought back top life through his handwriting. A unique font was created from the many letters he wrote when on Death Row.

When people went to www.troydavisisalive.com, they were able to write their own protest letters against the death penalty in Troy Davis’s own handwriting. These were printed out regularly and mailed to President Obama at The White House.

Results

As yet unknown

Our Thoughts

This is another of those examples of DM and digital combining in a novel way. Okay, only a relatively small number of letters actually ended up being mailed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But imagine a brand putting real money into a similar tactic, inviting their customers to write letters online which they would then post on their behalf. Toys R Us at Christmas, say, when parents might write their kids a letter from Santa at the Pole.

It’s why we publish studies of tiny mailings like this because they may inspire someone to do the same but on a larger scale.

One last thing, isn’t it interesting Alive don’t ask supporters to email the President? You can’t really register a protest in anything other than a letter. It’s physical and it makes your protest real.