2021 Brand Experience & Activation

#621DROWNED

Short List
Title#621DROWNED
BrandVLUCHTELINGENWERK VLAANDEREN
Product/ServiceREFUGEE HELP
Category A06. Not-for-profit / Charity / Government
Entrant MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM
Idea Creation MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM
Media Placement MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM
Credits
Name Company Position
Joost / Philippe / Jens Berends / De Ceuster / Mortier mortierbrigade Creative Directors
Michiel Baeten mortierbrigade Copywriter
Frederic Delouvroy mortierbrigade Art Director

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Our captivating stunt immediately triggered a shockwave inside the official national media and on social media.

Background

621 is the number of people that had drowned in the first trimester of 2021 in the Mediterranean Sea, searching for a safe place to live. Zeebruges is one of the most used borders to cross the sea.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

On July 1st 2021, the start of summer holidays in Belgium, 621 bodies appeared on the beach of Zeebrugge. These bodies of men, women, children and infants brought a hard reality to the attention of Belgian tourists.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We wanted to wake people up and reach politicians who have the power to make these avoidable deaths disappear.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

We installed 621 sand sculptures with different body shapes, covered with white beach towels that carried a message: “Searching for a place for your towel? 621 people drowned searching for a place to live.”.

List the results (30% of vote)

This captivating image immediately triggered a shockwave inside the official national media and on social media. With a very low budget, the campaign quickly earned over € 300.000 worth of media attention and organically reached over 50.000 people on social media. But more importantly, it shook European politics with an image that could not be ignored.