SPANISH COORDINATION FOR THE EUROPEAN WOMEN'S LOBBY
Category
A03. PUBLIC AFFAIRS & LOBBYING
Entrant Company
DDB SPAIN Madrid, SPAIN
Advertising Agency
DDB SPAIN Madrid, SPAIN
PR Agency
QMS Madrid, SPAIN
Credits
Name
Company
Position
Jose Mª Roca De Viñals
DDB Spain
Chief Creative Officer
Guillermo Santaisabel
DDB Spain
Executive Creative Director
Javier Urbaneja
Ddb Spain
Technology Creative Director
Cristina Rodriguez
DDB Spain
Art Director
Federico Arce
DDB Spain
Btl Team
Fernando Alvarez
DDB Spain
Btl Team
Carlos Guerrero
DDB Spain
Digital Programmer
Plug/In
Digital Programmer Studio
Tesauro
Production Company
Mariona Cruz
DDB Spain
Account Supervisor
Gabriela Castro
DDB Spain
Account Executive
Alberto Escudero
Photographer
Jorge De La Hermosa
Photographer
The Campaign
On 20 December, the Spanish Government announced that it would be making changes to the
current law on abortion. These measures will make it one of the most restrictive in the world;
even prohibiting the termination of a pregnancy in cases where the foetus is malformed.
Our goal was to raise awareness among the Spanish public of the reality it would face should
the proposed changes to the abortion law that the Government is preparing be passed, to
mobilise the general public against the proposed changes, and reach politicians through the
media.
To illustrate that future reality we created a fictitious travel agency specialising in trips to have
abortions outside Spain: Abortion Travel, 'the agency that should never exist.' Through it, we
sent our messages:
-Being obliged to travel outside Spain to have an abortion carries a high cost (both economic
and emotional).
-Those who have the resources could continue having abortions despite the law.
-That this situation could be very big business.
We opened the physical agency in premises in Madrid, while we also created the online agency
and sent a mail shot to the media: the suitcase that you should never have to pack.
To achieve the desired impact without a media campaign, we needed content that both stood
out and was controversial but which was also attractive to the press, public opinion formers, and
the general public; and which could be mobilised through public relations.
The Brief
Our goal was to mobilise the general public and the media to force the reopening of the debate
on the proposed changes. We wanted the largest possible media presence and to obtain
signatures for the petition against the proposed changes that we had created at change.org.
Results
Output/Awareness:
Overall impressions: 38.5M+.
Article count: 200+ national (almost all leading media), 30+ international (UK, Canada, Japan,
LATAM, Netherlands, Belgium, leading France media: LeFigaro, Liberation, MarieClaire,
Glamour, L'Express, HuffingtonPost).
ROI: €1,044,103
Knowledge/Consideration:
Type of media appearances: TV, print press, online press, blogs, radio, and social.
Favourable mentions: traditional, 94%; social, 97%.
Interviews: 10+ (TV, radio, online).
Press conference coverage by leading media.
Agency was visited by national cultural and political figures.
Action/Business Impact:
40K+ petition signatures.
3M+ Twitter impressions.
The campaign reached the Spanish Chamber of Deputies where parliamentarians and the
VicePresident of Congress were obliged to address it in statements. A spokesperson for the
ruling party was forced to ask for calm and left the door open by saying: 'we don't have the
definitive text yet which will be debated by both chambers.' We managed to reopen the debate
and made them rethink the law.
Execution
The agency was the campaign's headquarters: a press conference was held there, women were
informed about the consequences of the proposed changes to the law, and signatures were
directly collected to prevent it being passed.
In the online version of the agency, users could take part in a simulation where they made full
travel bookings for two people, which included the flight, the intervention, and accommodation
near the clinic. The user could choose between pre-set packages or make a manual selection
based on either the destination or the clinic. Services prices, although approximate, were
obtained using an API to ensure they were the most realistic possible (emotional cost not
included). In addition, the number of weeks and the possibility of foetal malformation were taken
into account. At the end of the search process, we invited users to sign a petition against the
proposed changes and prevent anyone else from ever having to take that trip.
The Situation
On 20 December, the Spanish Government announced that it would be making changes to the
current law on abortion. Measures making it one of the most restrictive in the world.
Worldwide media are debating the measures the Spanish Government wishes to take and
denouncing them as an abuse of power. Women in Spain took to the streets on a massive scale,
but the Government paid them no heed.
The Strategy
We delivered graphic teaser material (promotional videos for travel packages including an
abortion) to the media, whilst keeping it unclear whether Abortion Travel was or not a real
agency with a business model. Once the media had shown an interest and contacted our PR
team, we launched the call for the opening of the physical agency, where we carried out a press
conference at which we revealed the true nature of the campaign: Abortion Travel was the
agency that should never exist, a travel agency that would become a reality should the law be
passed.