THE DISTRESS SIGNAL

Short List
TitleTHE DISTRESS SIGNAL
BrandAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Product/ServiceAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Category B02. Use of Audio Technology
Entrant ANORAK Oslo, NORWAY
Idea Creation ANORAK Oslo, NORWAY
Media Placement OATH NORDICS Copenhagen, DENMARK
PR SLAGER Oslo, NORWAY
Production MAKING WAVES Oslo, NORWAY
Production 2 BADEOG Oslo, NORWAY
Credits
Name Company Position
Hallvard Fjeldbraaten Anorak Copywriter
Jens-Petter Aarhus Anorak Creative Director
Janne Espevalen Anorak Client Director
Kristina Tallaksen Flaten Anorak Project manager
Henrik Guderud Anorak PR & Activation Director
Ole Pedersen Anorak Planner
Sondre Hårstad Anorak Graphic Designer
Darri Thorsteinsson Anorak Director / Motion
Nøkkvi Thorsteinsson Anorak Director / Motion
Erlend Dal Sakshaug Anorak Motion
Marianne Skøien Anorak PR & Activation
Lars Georg Teigen Making Waves Client Director
Håvard Ørbech Making Waves Performance Specialist
Henrik Fischer Bjelland Making Waves Front-end developer
Bjørn Molstad Making Waves Producer
Piotrek Janosz Making Waves Front-end developer
Gjermund Norderhaug Making Waves Back-end developer
Maria Sætre Making Waves Graphic Designer
Eskil Paus BådeOg Radio Director
Magnus Brandsæter Freelance Producer

View Script

Write a short summary of what happens in the radio advert

This spot was playing in loop, 24/7, for 9 days on the shut down FM-radio-network in Norway: Male reporter: This is a distress signal from Amnesty International.In El salvador abortion is prohibited in all cases. Recording of a phonecall with Teodora’s sister: “Please help, please listen, my sisters name is Teodora Vasquez, I dont know what to do. They have sentenced her to jail for having a miscarriage- we really need your help. The government of El Salvador has sentenced her to 30 years for loosing her baby. We really need your help, the help of each and everyone, so that my sister can be free this 8th of December. Please if you can, tell everyone to help us. She has already spent 10 years in prison. Male reporter: Help free Teodora. Visit iamlistening.org and spread this signal.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

This has never happened before, and will never happen again; In 2017 Norway was the first country in the world to shut down its FM-radio-network, to go fully digital. It was a daily topic in media through 2017. As the government finally turned it off, Amnesty International used their own radio receiver to start a broadcasting on the silenced media: The first distress signal on the Norwegian FM-network since the second world war. The national attention happened within minutes. And the campaign could have stopped here. Instead we picked up the signal from a local FM-transmitting radio, and started a 24/7 LIVE STREAM in social media, making it possible for anyone to boost our signal using twitter or Facebook. And soon our local distress signal was being broadcasted all over the world.

Script

Male reporter: This is a distress signal from Amnesty International.In El salvador abortion is prohibited in all cases. Recording of a phonecall with Teodora’s sister: “Please help, please listen, my sisters name is Teodora Vasquez, I dont know what to do. They have sentenced her to jail for having a miscarriage- we really need your help. The government of El Salvador has sentenced her to 30 years for loosing her baby. We really need your help, the help of each and everyone, so that my sister can be free this 8th of December. Please if you can, tell everyone to help us. She has already spent 10 years in prison. Male reporter: Help free Teodora. Visit iamlistening.org and spread this signal.