| Title | PINK TRIANGLE ISSUE |
| Brand | VANGARDIST PROGRESSIVE MEN´S MAGAZINE |
| Product/Service | ACTIVISM |
| Category |
G01. Integrated Campaign Led by Direct |
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Entrant
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SERVICEPLAN GERMANY Munich, GERMANY
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Idea Creation
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SERVICEPLAN GERMANY Munich, GERMANY
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Idea Creation 2
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PLAN.NET Munich, GERMANY
|
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Idea Creation 3
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SERVICEPLAN FRANCE Paris, FRANCE
|
|
PR
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SERVICEPLAN GERMANY Munich, GERMANY
|
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Production
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PLAN.NET Munich, GERMANY
|
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Production 2
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PPM FILMPRODUCTIONS Vienna, AUSTRIA
|
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Production 3
|
HASTINGS MUSIC Hamburg, GERMANY
|
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Additional Company
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MAUTHAUSEN MEMORIAL, GERMANY
|
Credits
| Alexander Schill |
SERVICEPLAN GROUP |
Global Chief Creative Officer |
| Christoph Everke |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Executive Creative Director |
| Alexander Nagel |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Executive Creative Director |
| Jason Romeyko |
SERVICEPLAN GROUP |
Worldwide Executive Creative Director |
| Henrik Pfeiffer |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Creative Director |
| Rafael Angulo |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Art Director |
| Melissa Meyer |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Junior Art Director |
| Nedim Aktas |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Junior Copywriter |
| Hendrik Haupt |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Trainee Copywriter |
| Julia Meinetsberger |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Senior Account Manager |
| Melanie Gensert |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Junior Account Manager |
| Leo Tilemann |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Junior Account Manager |
| Eliette-Nabila Korte |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Junior Account Manager |
| Stefanie von Bary |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Trafficer |
| Sarah Fabry-Zappe |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Senior PR Consultant |
| Christian Gosch |
SERVICEPLAN AUSTRIA |
Executive Creative Director |
| Michael Reill |
PLAN.NET GERMANY |
Managing Creative Director |
| Dimitri Guerassimov |
SERVICEPLAN FRANCE |
Executive Creative Director |
| Fabien Teichner |
SERVICEPLAN FRANCE |
Executive Creative Director |
| Dr. Andrea Malgara |
MEDIAPLUS GERMANY |
Partner |
| Frédérique Auvitu |
MEDIAPLUS FRANCE |
Managing Director |
| Lee Sharrock |
Freelance |
Global Communications Officer |
| Christoph Kuschnig |
Freelance |
Director |
| Olaf Blecker |
Freelance |
Photographer |
| Sebastian Larrosa-Lombardi |
PPM Filmproductions |
Producer |
| Philipp von Mauch |
Freelance |
Coder |
| Julian Behrenbeck |
Vangardist |
Editorial |
| Anna Hawliczeck |
PPM Filmproductions |
DOP |
| Katrin Heinemann |
Spark Hamburg |
Managing Director |
| Robin Stolp |
Unruly |
Commercial Director DACH, CEE & Benelux |
Why is this work relevant for Direct?
80 years ago, gays were taken to concentration camps and marked with a Pink Triangle as a sign of their homosexuality. Today, gays are still persecuted in over 70 countries and even taken to concentration camps. That is why Progressive Men’s Magazine VANGARDIST reclaimed this crucial symbol as the core of an international campaign. All advertising channels such as digital, classical and PR led to our interactive website where we created a unique visual petition: via Facebook Connect people shaped their personal profile picture into a Pink Triangle– and encouraged other to join and take a stand for LGBT freedom.
Background
In the Nazi Era not only Jews were taken to Concentration Camps. Gay people were also imprisoned and marked with a Pink Triangle. But while the Nazi Era ended, the homophobic violence did not: Today, gays are still persecuted in over 70 countries and even taken to concentration camps. That’s why for the first time in history we started an integrated campaign in a Nazi concentration camp. To make a change, we reclaimed the Pink Triangle and gave it a new shape and a new meaning: Turning it from a symbol of death into a window of hope.
Describe the creative idea
The Pink Triangle is a symbol from the dark period of the Nazi Era. This badge was used to mark gays in Concentration camps. But while the Nazi Era ended, the homophobic violence did not: Today, gays are still persecuted in over 70 countries and even taken to concentration camps. That’s why for the first time after 80 years, we brought the symbol back to a Nazi Concentration Camp. In a documentary a survivor of todays’ gay persecution wore a Pink Triangle – reminding everyone to fight this ongoing threat.
Our campaign gave the Pink Triangle a new shape and a new meaning: We turned the symbol of death into a window of hope. What used to be a death sentence became a sign of pride – a powerful tool for worldwide supporters to positively impact society and to express inclusion and hope. Ultimately raising the voice for LGBT freedom.
Describe the strategy
In many countries the freedom of LGBT people is taken for granted – but the reality is shocking. Not many people know about the inhumane atrocities and current homophobic fueled hate crimes around the world. To shift this perception and to start our campaign, we used a provocative strategy: We gave the unbelievable and horrifying topic a human testimony. We told the fate of a real survivor of todays’ gay persecution who escaped torture in Jamaica – and even made him wore a Pink Triangle in a Nazi Concentration Camp.
With this meaningful stroke we made the ongoing homophobic violence visible for everyone in the world.
Describe the execution
On International Day Against Homophobia on 17 May, we launched “The Pink Triangle Issue”. The crucial symbol was revealed with a new shape at a press conference in the Mauthausen Memorial – reclaimed as a sign of hope and as a start of our immersive multi-channel campaign.
We placed the symbol on multiple media to reach as many people as possible and to gain maximum impact.
Our online documentary and billboards with controversial headlines created awareness for the issue.
A special print issue gave a detailed view on the ongoing homophobic violence and educated people with carefully crafted insights.
On our website people became part of a unique visual petition: reaching out to the UN to care for LGBT freedom by adding “sexual orientation” and gender identity” to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
List the results
The Pink Triangle Issue sparked a global conversation about the freedom of LGBT people: thousands and thousands of views, shares, engagements and PR generated a total of over 410 million impressions worldwide.
Big brands like Starbucks, Facebook and the REWE Group, one of Europe’s biggest supermarket chains, supported the campaign. The campaign was not limited to the solidarity of the LGBT community, it activated an alliance of the broad society.
With our visual online petition, we made people not simply sign with their names, but showing support by giving their face for the cause.
And finally, the UN took a stand: The UN General Assembly resolution addressing violence includes explicit reference to sexual orientation and gender identity. They urged States to “protect the life of all people” and called upon them to “investigate killings based on discriminatory grounds”.