Cannes Lions

The Unbreakable Rainbow

180HEARTBEATS+JUNG V MATT , Warsaw / UNILEVER - BEN&JERRY'S / 2019

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Case Film
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Overview

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Overview

Background

In 2012 a giant rainbow sculpture appeared in Saviour Square in Warsaw. It triggered hate among opponents of LGBT rights despite its joyful purpose. Set on fire and rebuilt seven times it raised nationwide controversies until it was removed permanently in 2015, only to become a tragic reminder of Poland’s homophobic issues. Ben & Jerry’s and NGO partners decided to reinstall it. This time as a water-light hologram, making it an unbreakable symbol of love.

Idea

Poland is the 2nd most homophobic country in the EU. The goal of the event organized the day before the Equality Parade in Warsaw was to support the LGBT community and to increase interest in the subject of marital equality. Ben&Jerry's and NGOs strive to ensure an equal right to marry for everyone until 2025. The rainbow event’s tagline was Love is love - every love is equal and just as important. Similarly, the rainbow is simply a rainbow, not a tool of provocation or propaganda. We wanted the restored rainbow to be indestructible this time. In reference to previous arsons, we decided to use water to make it fireproof.

Strategy

We aimed our event for LGBT supporters as well as Warsaw residents who miss the old rainbow installation. Moreover, we wanted to raise awareness for equal marital rights for everyone. We invited influencers, politicians and artists sympathetic to the LGBT community to participate and share. Despite a large number of people involved, the event had been kept secret until almost the last moment - we wanted to avoid the repercussions of national environments.

The rainbow event’s tagline was Love is love - every love is equal and just as important.

Execution

In social media we informed about being a Partner of the Equality Parade, and in the week preceding the projection we teased the rainbow event, not revealing its form. The day before the screening, we organized a press breakfast for selected journalists to present the brand's cooperation with NGOs and present the design of the installation. On the day of the event, we published a public invitation in social media, reported live streaming and encouraged participants to share their photos. We have restored the rainbow in the original place and the original size. This time in an unbreakable version - as a water-light hologram. Ben&Jerry’s decided not to brand the rainbow. Throughout the evening, participants were treated to Ben&Jerry's ice cream though, but the cups had the logos of all the organizers of the event: Love Does Not Exclude Association, Parada Równosci (Equality Parade) Foundation and Ben&Jerry's

Outcome

The return of the rainbow was reported not only by local media, but also by international ones, among others: The Washington Post, The Telegraph, China Post, The Guardian, Campaign, Attitude, Indy100.com, Metro UK, Fox News, MS NBC. British actor and comedian James Corden and German deputy to European Parliament Terry Reintke also mentioned it in their social media. The discussion about equal martial rights flared up, Wysokie Obcasy, a weekly influential magazine broadcasted an issue with NGOs’ and brand’s representatives on its rainbow cover. The number of publications in the media and social networks has exceeded 65,600 (most of them are posts by individual users in social media) and the majority are positive. The total reach of the publication is 47.5 million, and the number of love reactions in social media - 355k.

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