awomansnightmare.com (cauchemaredefemme.fr)
Samusocial de Paris
Issue 25 | December 2012
Agency
Publicis Conseil, Paris
Creative Team
International Creative Director: Veronique Sels Art Director: Bastien Grisolet Copywriter: Veronique Sels
Production Team
Production: Quad, Paris Director: Frederic Schoendoerffer Producer: Martin Coulais
Other Credits
Agency Director: Patrick Lara Agency Managers: Emmanuelle Henry, Debora Guarachi Digital Planner: Guillaume Sabbagh Agency Producer: Timothe Rosenberg, WAM Paris Advertiser’s Supervisor: Eric Molinie, Stefania Parigi, Valerie Coton
Date
March 2012
Background
The only homeless women’s emergency shelter in Paris was going to have to close permanently on May 31 2012. Samusocial of Paris, the homeless people’s emergency service, needed to alert public opinion to help raise support to keep the shelter open.
Idea
An interactive film was made about a homeless woman on the streets of Paris. In the story, the woman fled from two aggressive men who seemed set on raping her.
She ran to the Samusocial women’s refuge, where she banged on the door to be let in.
At this point, a pop-up appeared with a countdown timer of 20 seconds and a message: To keep the shelter open, sign the petition by sharing the film on Facebook/Twitter.
Now viewers had a choice. If they clicked the ‘share’ button, instantly sharing the film on all their social networks, the girl found sanctuary. If, however, they did not click the button, her fate was sealed.
Results
18,000 signatures were captured on Facebook and Twitter during the first week.
Around 2.2 million people learned about the campaign in social media.
It generated 400% more PR coverage than any previous Samusocial initiative.
On Day 10 of the campaign, Samusocial of Paris received notice from the government that the centre would definitely remain open.
Our Thoughts
We have often been scolded at Directory for showcasing too much pro-bono work. But charities, braver than most clients because they have less money and a greater sense of urgency, often allow their agencies to innovate and that’s what interests us. Innovation.
Take this idea from Publicis Conseil. It doesn’t just involve the viewer in the action, it demands a moral decision from them. Click and the girl is saved, don’t click and she’s doomed.
It is a relatively simple device, which could have, and probably will have, countless commercial applications. So, Samusocial have allowed Publicis Conseil to demonstrate both what new technology can do and how they are the best people to do it.
Everyone wins.