May 3rd is International Press Freedom day.
Western people take press freedom for granted, but in China for example, there is no press freedom to speak of.
Recently it even took a turn for the worse.
When the Chinese government not only censored an article on censorship. But rewrote it completely.
The Belgian independent magazine 'Humo' wanted to lend its 1,3 billion Chinese friends an uncensored hand.
Creative Execution
May 3rd is International Press Freedom Day.
Humo magazine wanted to stress out its independence.
So we used China's biggest export products to make our point on censorship.
Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.
So we took the uncensored version of this article that was never published in China. And had it printed.
In China.
We turned a forbidden article into trendy designs.
And had it printed on T-shirts, mousepads, iPhone covers, mugs and baseball caps.
Results
At first, most factories refused.
But eventually we sneaked the uncensored article past the Chinese censorship.
And gave hundreds of Chinese printers, sowers, folders, packers and all other workers at 52 different factories the chance to read an Uncensored article.
We informed reporters all over the world, who were eager to spread the campaign. It was picked up and spread by Chinses opinion makers, like Chinese artist Aiweiwei.
But most important: we spread a message of hope towards reporters in China and the rest of the world.
We sensitized people on the importance of freedom of the press.
And the gadgets? They were sold on the Humo website, raising funds for Reporters without Borders.