When it comes to his agency’s work on behalf of Amnesty International, Agency59’s chief creative officer Brian Howlett is a firm believer in not pulling any punches.
This approach is exemplified by the Toronto agency’s most recent work for the non-profit organization–a T-shirt to be worn by Amnesty International’s street teams that features a boot print, blood spatters and what appears to be gaping wounds. The back of the shirt features the Amnesty International logo above the words “Had enough?”
“The insight was to create a shirt that is as jarring as the reality of violence that Amnesty is fighting against,” said Howlett. “The whole point is to do something that’s provocative and makes people stop.
“If it upsets some people so be it, because at the end of the day what’s happening in the real-world is a lot more upsetting.”
The shirt was originally intended to tie in with the “Someone’s Watching” spot that debuted at Toronto’s Dundas Square last fall. The spot, which contains no dialogue, shows a group of soldiers preparing to execute a man in the street, only to walk away when they notice that they’re being watched. The accompanying super reads “If someone’s watching…the violence stops.”
That spot has since been chosen by Amnesty International to run in both Mexico and Chile, while Agency59 is also looking to create both French and Arabic versions for use in other markets.
The spot marked a reconciliation of sorts for the two organizations, which had parted ways a couple of years ago over what Howlett described as a difference of opinion about the creative approach.
“I’m not a fan of doing shocking work for the sake of doing shocking work, but at the end of the day we’re trying to raise awareness around stuff that is shocking,” said Howlett. “If you look around the world, there is some really great work being done [for Amnesty] and it tends to go towards that dark side. You’re using those tactics to make people think.”
“Someone’s Watching” has also been chosen as one of 16 finalists in the fifth annual Do-Gooder Awards, a competition sponsored by Chicago-based interactive agency See3 Communications and YouTube that honours non-profit advertising. This year’s competition drew more than 1,350 submissions from more than 800 non-profit organizations.
The spot proved so popular with Amnesty International that Agency59 has also been selected to work on a global campaign marking the organization’s 50th anniversary this year.
While London agency Mother is spearheading the global creative strategy, Agency59 will create original advertising for the Canadian market that is expected to debut in late spring or early summer.
