My Last Day
Amnesty International The Netherlands
Issue 35 | June 2015
Agency
Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: Darre van Dijk Creative Team: Benjamin de Villiers Creative Team: Rob Voortman Designer: Colin Tossijn Agency Producer & Account: Melissa Nieveld Strategy: Heleen Hidskes Music: Darre van Dijk In cooperation with: Melissa Nieveld Productions
Production Team
DPPLR Director: Daniël Dow Producer: Amber Akkermans Line Producer: Barry Fink (Vintage Film) DOP: Aage Hollander 2nd Unit: Eric Halberstadt Editor: Ruben Labree Colorist: Remi Lindenhovius (De Grot) Online: De Grot Sound Recording on Set: Patrick Brogdon Sound Design & Mix: Marcel Bultman (Post Office)
Date
April 2015
Background
Amnesty International’s mission is to abolish the death penalty. Because the Death Penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. This cruel and degrading mistreatment must become a topic of discussion amongst people around the world and ultimately put an end to it.
Amnesty’s Press release highlighted the Death Penalty’s current worldwide situation. But this matter of life and death doesn’t reach enough people. So to spread its message, the idea was to share the true story of Anthony Graves. He spent 18,5 years on Death Row after being wrongly convicted for mass murder.
Idea
This campaign shared Amnesty’s position on the Death Penalty. Although people around the world increasingly agree that the Death Penalty is wrong, it is still very much alive. We’ve lately seen it become more topical as the list of exonerees grow, as well as the discussion about the Death Penalty itself – with firing squads and poison in particular.
So to tap into these current affairs and spread Amnesty’s message, the best spokesperson imaginable was used. Anthony Graves. A man who was wrongly convicted in 1992 for the mass murder of six people in Somerville Texas and spent 18,5 years on Death Row. He shared his story – an insightful narration that gives true insight into the inhumanity of the Death Penalty.
But a great story doesn’t mean a great media budget. There was no budget. Instead, Amnesty’s online channels were used and PR messages were sent out. The film spread organically as many of the Amnesty followers interacted with its content. Dutch media companies wanted to spread Anthony’s story too and agreed to broadcast the film on national television, for several weeks – all for free. News outlets, such as CNN, Al Jazeera and BBC, then picked it up.
Results
Without any media budget, the movie generated over 120.000 views within 48 hours in the Netherlands and after that many other countries followed around the world such as the UK, the United States and France, where it doubled its views. Traditional media organizations were moved by the online film as well and broadcasted in cinemas for several weeks. This resulted in earned media coverage worth € 9.193.750.