| Title | THE WEAPEN |
| Brand | REPORTER OHNE GRENZEN |
| Product/Service | REPORTER OHNE GRENZEN |
| Category |
A08. Charities, Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages |
|
Entrant
|
DDB GROUP Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Idea Creation
|
DDB GROUP Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
PR
|
DDB GROUP Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Production
|
BLMFILM Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Production 2
|
SOUNDSCAPE MUSIC Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
|
Production 3
|
OPTIX DIGITAL PICTURES Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Production 4
|
HASTINGS MEDIA MUSIC Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Additional Company
|
THE WOODEN QUILL Land O Lakes, USA
|
|
Additional Company 2
|
BEINDER SCHREINEREI & WOHNDESIGN Weitnau, GERMANY
|
Credits
| Fabian Roser |
DDB Hamburg |
Executive Creative Director |
| Nicolas Schmidt-Fitzner |
DDB Hamburg |
Creative Director |
| Jan-Hendrik Scholz |
DDB Hamburg |
Creative Director |
| Christian Baur |
DDB Hamburg |
Senior Art Director |
| Thimon Machatzke |
DDB Hamburg |
Senior Copywriter |
| Eva Schramm |
DDB Hamburg |
Art Director |
| Pascal Rößler |
DDB Hamburg |
Junior Art Director |
| Vitali Wachramejew |
DDB Hamburg |
Junior Art Director |
| Quentin Frémont |
DDB Hamburg |
Junior Art Director |
| Nicolas Berg |
DDB Hamburg |
Junior Copywriter |
| Sönke Bruns |
DDB Hamburg |
Client Service Director |
| Carolin Sonnenschein |
DDB Hamburg |
Junior Account Manager |
| Laura Maroldt |
DDB Group Germany |
Head of Corporate Communication |
| Meike van Meegen |
DDB Hamburg |
Head of TV |
| Franck Papenbroock |
blmfilm GmbH |
Director |
| René Richter |
blmfilm GmbH |
Camera |
| Hessel Herder |
Soundscape Music |
Music Producer |
| Geert van Gaalen |
Soundscape Music |
Music Producer |
| Reinhard Hunger |
Bransch Europe |
Photographer |
| Eric Schoeffler |
DDB Group Germany |
Chief Creative Officer |
The Campaign
Everywhere in the world, people use murderous weapons to suppress one of our most important rights: the freedom of information. We took their fired bullets and turned them into the strongest ammunition in our fight against oppression – by turning them into WEAPENs.
We started out by selling a limited edition of 144 pens for 144 journalists who were murdered in 2015. A strong symbol that raised awareness for the problem amongst freedom writers all over the world. Today, we are still constantly generating money to combat oppression – by selling a second, unlimited edition of the WEAPEN.
Campaign Success
The WEAPEN is the only weapon that people should ever use:
144 pens for 144 murdered journalists. Handmade from fired bullet casings. Perfectly shaped with a high-quality mounting made from walnut wood. Delivered in hand-numbered ammunition boxes.
In 2015 we started with a teaser campaign. When the interest reached its peak, the time had come to reveal the secret: on Freedom of Information Day we released THE WEAPEN. Promoted only via owned media channels, the limited-edition pens reached breakeven within two hours – and were sold out in less than ten hours! To meet the massive demand, we introduced a second, unlimited edition, which still generates money today.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results
The WEAPEN quickly got the attention of the most influential journalists, who wrote statements on the importance of freedom of information with it – and published them in all major newspapers. Thus, worldwide awareness for our cause, Reporters without Borders and the product itself was generated, together with countless media impressions. By selling not only the 144 limited-edition pens but also a second unlimited edition, we enabled freedom writers everywhere to contribute – with their money and their statements on the importance of ending violent oppression. Our project reached breakeven in less than two hours and is still an important source of income for Reporters without Borders today – and thus an important weapon in our non-violent fight for freedom of information.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service
We sent THE WEAPEN to the most influential journalists and asked them – via a mailshot – to write a statement on freedom of information. Their response was overwhelming: not only did they contribute important content, they even published it in all major newspapers. By making THE WEAPEN – together with a call to support our cause – available for other freedom writers, we are now constantly generating money and content for our non-violent battle against violent oppression.
We turned an instrument of evil into ammunition for peace. By turning fired bullets into pens, we gave Reporters Without Borders the means to fight non-violently against oppression. By making it available to the most influential journalists, who picked up on the project immediately, we created worldwide awareness. By selling it to other freedom writers, we enabled them to actively write in favor of our cause and started to generate highly needed financial funds to support our battle.