Title	RUSSIAN YOGA SCHOOL
Brand	COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE
Product/Service	PRODUCT / SERVICE
Category	A07. Not-for-profit / Charity / Governemt
Entrant	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
Idea Creation	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
Idea Creation 2	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
Idea Creation 3	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
PR	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
PR 2	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
PR 3	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
Production	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
Production 2	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA
Production 3	ZEBRA HERO Moscow, RUSSIA

Name	Company	Position
Elnara Ialaltdinova	Zebra Hero	Creative Group Head
Rinat Khusnutdinov	Zebra Hero	Creator
Oksana Bondarenko	Zebra Hero	Executive Producer
Anna Bokina	Zebra Hero	Agency Producer
Artem Tsaregorodtsev	Zebra Hero	Creative Director
Lena Samoilova	Zebra Hero	Account Director
Andrey Paukow	Zebra Hero	Production Director

Why is this work relevant for PR?

A public impact is the only way to fight the power structures in Russia. Also, 1 in 10 Russians has experienced torture or threats of violence at the hands of law enforcement. A particularly serious - and often covered up - issue is that of torture.

Background

The client: Committee Against Torture is an organization that provides support to victims of torture, from assisting them and their families and conducting independent investigations to representing them at the European Court of Human Rights. Online newspaper Meduza is one of the few media agencies free from state censorship and raising important societal issues.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Russian Yoga School is a social project concerning torture in Russia. It is a series of videos in which well-known actors and musicians describe widespread forms of torture as if they were yoga exercises. This way of presentation was chosen due to the fact that law enforcers cynically give the forms of torture the kinds of innocent names (“Swallow”, “Baby Elephant”, “Songbird”) better suited to yoga poses than brutal forms of abuse. It is this horrific paradox that the project’s creators have underlined. The videos have appeared on Meduza alongside stories of real torture survivors. In addition, the celebrity participants have posted videos of themselves on Instagram and received large numbers of views and comments.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

It is a series of videos in which well-known actors and musicians describe widespread forms of torture as if they were yoga exercises. This way of presentation was chosen due to the fact that law enforcers cynically give the forms of torture the kinds of innocent names (“Swallow”, “Baby Elephant”, “Songbird”) better suited to yoga poses than brutal forms of abuse. It is this horrific paradox that the project’s creators have underlined.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

The videos have appeared on Meduza alongside stories of real torture survivors. In addition, the celebrity participants have posted videos of themselves on Instagram and received large numbers of views and comments.

List the results (30% of vote)

In the first 10 days, the Committee Against Torture received 500 000 rubles in donations. Over a third of those who donated have pledged to do so monthly, which means 160 000 rubles each month. All the money will go towards medical support and rehabilitation, as well as conducting of expert examinations necessary for the victims of torture and other criminal violence in the hands of state agents. The yoga-tutorial format provided a way to introduce this difficult issue and kick off discussion of torture in the media and on social networks. Overall, the project has reached over 13 000 000 people. On Meduza, the story has received 4 times the average number of views for the site.