Letter from a Prisoner
Amnesty International Portugal
Issue 25 | January 2013
Agency
McCann Erickson Portugal
Creative Team
Creative Director: José Marques Art Director: Tiago Pinto Copywriter: Pedro Dias
Production Team
Print Producer: Rui da Paz
Date
Dec 2011/April 2012
Background
Amnesty wanted to raise awareness of the violations of human rights in prisons. They also wanted donations and to motivate people to participate in the "Letters Marathon", an initiative in which people all over the world could write letters on behalf of individuals or communities forced into silence.
Idea
A mailing was created which used the same technique that prisoners use amongst themselves to send messages. The paper, apparently blank, carried an invisible text written in lemon juice. The only thing visible, written in black ink, was a call to action, inviting people to iron the sheet to find out what was hidden.
Once revealed, the message was plea to the reader to be aware of violations and to visit the Amnesty website, where they could get more information and have their eyes opened to what has been happening.
Results
Compared to the previous year, the value of donations rose about 35%. Amnesty reported that this action touched those who received the letter, because it made real the difficulties that prisoners have in maintaining their constitutional right to freedom of speech.