Return of the blue pencil
Grupo Cofina
Issue 39 | June 2016
Agency
Ogilvy Portugal
Creative Team
Creative Director Jorge Coelho Art Director Carlos Costa Copywriter Álvaro Silveira
Production Team
Image Post-Production Álvaro Carrapito
Other Credits
Account Director Paulo Caixeiro Account Executive Catarina Oliveira
Date
October 2015
Background
Following the detention of former prime minister José Sócrates on charges of corruption in November 2014, Portugal's leading newspaper, Correio da Manhã, published a series of news stories detailing and denouncing his illegal activities.
Eleven months later and even though he was still in jail, Sócrates used his network of influence to get a court order imposed to silence the newspaper again.
Idea
Before the return of democracy in 1974, Portugal had lived under a dictatorship for 48 years. During this time, there was no free press and the state police would use a blue pencil to censor news.
Correio da Manhã wanted to remind citizens what it was like to live without a free press.
The day after the court order silencing the paper, Correio da Manhã produced an issue with its front cover heavily censored by blue ink. A few words were visible. They read: "We will continue to inform you".
Results
Between 28.10.2015 and 10.11.2015 the results were:
- TV – 107 news| 7.436.802,78€
- Radio – 86 news | 132.955,74€
- Press – 32 news | 496.979,52€
- Online – 224 news | 680.601,27€
- Total: 449 news | 8.747.339,31€
Our Thoughts
It's all too easy to forget the vital role a free press plays in protecting democracy, and given their history, the Portuguese are all too aware of censorship and the symbol of the blue pencil.
However, there will be many among the younger generation unaware of the pre-democracy era, and it's important to remind them that press freedom can't be taken for granted. It's worth fighting for.
The response of Correio da Manhã and its agency Ogilvy was both rapid and effective, picking up on a symbolism everyone understood.
Better still, its action succeeded – perhaps more than the paper expected: what may have seemed a quixotic gesture caught the public imagination and led to the lifting of the censorship ban.