Kafa ‘Legally Bride’
KAFA (enough) Violence & Exploitation
Issue 40 | September 2016
Agency
Leo Burnett Beirut
Creative Team
CCO Bechara Mouzannar Reg. Exe. Creative Director Malek Ghorayeb Creative Director Rana Khoury Copywriter Lama Bawadi Senior Art Director Christina Salibi
Production Team
Managing Director Nada Abi Saleh PR Managing Director Jo Chemali PR Communication Supervisor Rita Chammas Strategic Planner Jean Georges Prince PR Planner Tala Arakji PR Communication Executives Camille Medawar Roy Khachan
Date
November 2015
Background
Child brides are common in Lebanon. Some 13% of girls get married before they're 18. Marriage is not covered by civil law, only by religious law and all religious sects in Lebanon allow child marriage. Technically, girls as young as nine can be legally married.
Lebanese religious institutions have long turned a deaf ear to protests. KAFA's aim was to raise awareness and drive public support to end the practice.
Idea
A wedding photoshoot between a between a middle-aged man and his 11-year-old bride was staged on the Corniche, Beirut's famous high-profile public space.
The photoshoot was filmed, capturing the countless reactions of outraged bystanders protesting against the act.
Results
Unsurprisingly, the stunt went viral, generating over 100 million organic views and attracting press and media coverage around the world, including The Huffington Post, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Vanity Fair, and CNN.
The stunt reached 95% of the Lebanese online population.
Facebook sentiment was 99.97% positive.
The United Nations adopted the issue.
Our Thoughts
Dramatising the idea of child brides – especially in a culture that accepts them – isn’t that easy. But the idea of the wedding shoot – done on the Corniche with such apparent conviction -- is a brilliantly simple stunt, and so powerful.
The outraged reaction of passersby captures it all. “Her parents are criminals,” says one.
No wonder it’s garnered so much worldwide media attention and landed prizes at Cannes.
Check out the credits supplied by Leo Burnett at the top of this page. A lot of PR people are involved, a reminder that PR can be as effective a tool for agencies as, well, making ads. Too often, in our siloed, multi-disciplinary worlds, we forget how a simple PR stunt can have a huge impact.