FOUNTAIN AGAINST TORTURE

TitleFOUNTAIN AGAINST TORTURE
BrandAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Product/ServiceCAMPAIGN AGAINST TORTURE
Category B04. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
Entrant SCHOLZ & FRIENDS Berlin, GERMANY
Idea Creation SCHOLZ & FRIENDS Berlin, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Matthias Spaetgens Scholz & Friends Chief Creative Officer
Robert Krause Scholz & Friends Managing Creative Director
Mathias Rebmann Scholz & Friends Creative Director
Björn Kernspeckt Scholz & Friends Creative Director
Max Marohn Scholz & Friends Art Director
René Gebhardt Scholz & Friends Art Director
Nils Busche Scholz & Friends Copywriter
Johannes Stoll Scholz & Friends Photographer
Nick Anderson n/a Illustrator
Janine Ginzel Scholz & Friends Account Manager
Julia Klemann Scholz & Friends Account Manager
Kristin Ammon Scholz & Friends Agency Producer
Mantas Jockus n/a Cinematographer
Daniel Klessig Scholz & Friends Editor
Sebastian Thiel Scholz & Friends Technical Project Manager
Erik Tannhäuser n/a Sculptor

The Campaign

Torture happens where it can’t be seen. To emotionally involve our target group we had to make it visible. The idea was to directly confront people with torture and to show them that they have the power to solve it. That’s why Amnesty International created the "Fountain of torture". A monument that shows the horrors of waterbording but can easily be stopped by donating.

Creative Execution

The monument was set up in several German cities in summer and autumn 2015. Every opening ceremony was attended by local politicians, celebrities and former torture victims giving the idea additional media attention. Amnesty’s website also featured a digital version of the fountain.

Results

One Euro was enough to stop torture temporarily for one minute. Cash donations alone amounted over 30,000 €. The average online donation increased by an average of nearly 11%. But Amnesty’s real success can’t be measured in Euros. Amnesty created a media picture that was spread rapidly by the press and social media. Torture that used to be an „other people’s problem“ became a topic that moved hundreds of thousands. And most important of all: Amnesty International won thousands of new supporters. Valuable leads for future campaigns.

The fountain of torture successfully involved donators in a personal dialogue about a difficult topic: torture. The direct approach made the "invisible" problem tangible and relevant for our target group.

Since Guantanamo the most well known symbol for torture is waterboarding. A form of torture that "simulates" painful drowning. To raise donations, Amnesty International confronted potential supporters with the horrors of torture where they least expected it: in their favorite shopping malls. This is where Amnesty created The fountain of torture. People could stop the waterboarding by donating at the interactive monument, via text messaging or on the Amnesty website.