Gold is a popular gift at Christmas time in Switzerland. What many people do not (want to) know: where the gold actually comes from. In order to raise public awareness of the origin of the gold, banners advertising free gold appeared on websites in the run-up to Christmas. But first the user was shown a brief film about the origins of the gold being offered. It was not possible to skip the one-minute film. At the end of the shocking film, the viewer had to make a decision: taking the offered free gold. Or making a donation to the Berne Declaration (EvB). The few people who still opted for the free gold were sent a mailing with dirty gold leaf free of charge, including a credit slip for a donation.

The banners with the free gold offer were placed on popular sites and networks just one week before Christmas. In addition, the campaign was launched via a media cooperation on Storyfilter.com (a popular online-magazine in Switzerland,

comparable to BuzzFeed). The banners were linked to a landingpage containing the disturbing film about the dirty gold. The campaign was executed with a simple and clear usability that stimulated the participation and sustained acts. After the shocking film, the users could easely gather more information about the dirty gold, give a donation to the Bern Declaration (EvB) or sign up for a membership.

The campaign achieved 2.2 million impressions within just a few weeks. No fewer than 97% of the website visitors decided against the free gold. 40% of them showed further interest through donation or membership.

The commitment of the EvB and the campaign about the dirty gold had an impact at the highest level: In December 2015, the Swiss Federal Council decided to take a closer look to the gold refineries to find out how Swiss companies are involved in human rights violations in gold mining . (Source: Evb.ch)