FASHION VICTIMS

TitleFASHION VICTIMS
BrandAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Product/ServiceAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Category D03. Outdoor
Entrant DDB PARIS, FRANCE
Idea Creation DDB PARIS, FRANCE
Credits
Name Company Position
Alexander Kalchev DDB Paris Executive Creative Director
Patrice Dumas DDB Paris Creative
Caroline Lorin DDB Paris Creative
Odile Song DDB Paris Planner
Marine Hakim DDB Paris Managing Director
Coralie Bouillier DDB Paris Account Executive
Camille Passot DDB Paris Account Executive
Pia Schneider DDB Paris Producer
Corinne Vulliez DDB Paris Print Producer
Marie Juncker Handsome Producer
Sam Fontaine Handsome Producer

Cultural / Context information for the jury

The French government has a dirty secret. It sells French weapons illegally to foreign governments (Yemen, Saudi Arabia) which are then used against civilians. This makes them complicit in war crimes. Despite military documents being leaked in 2018, this had yet to become a topic widely discussed by the press and the public. We had to hit where it hurts. The French government is quick to brag about “Made in France” pride, but completely denies accusations of illegal arms sale. We decided to draw a parallel between French weaponry and another better-known icon of French savoir-faire: fashion. The result is a print campaign that exposes the illegal arms trade but borrows from luxury and fashion codes. Displayed in the streets next to actual fashion campaigns during Paris Fashion Week, they allowed us to hijack this event to make noise about an issue that originally received no coverage or attention.

Tell the jury about the photography. Do not name the photographer.

To fully draw the parallel between illegal arms trade and fashion, we needed the visuals to be flawlessly executed like fashion ads. The desired effect: to hook people into the fashion-like universe but as they get closer to the visual, something starts to feel off, allowing our message to land powerfully in people’s minds. It was crucial for it to be first perceived as just another fashion campaign. This is reflected in the choice of a fashion photographer, in the model-like physique, attitude and poses of the actors and actresses, in the prop and costume details (a subtle balance between military and glamour, e.g. camo clothing with jewels and strass). The weapons are held and photographed in such a way that the eye does not immediately identify them as such. All the details were thought through, and nothing was left to chance.