In the online film, we see how eerily quiet things become when important voices are silenced. We have taken well known freedom advocates such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Watson and Malala Yousafzai and silenced them when standing at the UN podium ready to express themselves. But instead of great speeches there is only silence, since we edited out the actual talking from their speeches, which makes for an interesting, awkward viewing that makes you think and reflect over the issue.

The campaign was launched under the hashtag #freethespeech on the day of the 250th anniversary of the Freedom of Press Act in Sweden – the oldest in the world.

During that day Swedish embassies and institutions all over the world, one after another depending on which time zone they represented - shared the film in their social media channels. They were also responsible for trying to get the word out to local press.

Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, gave the campaign an extra push, by holding her own “silent speech” during a major freedom of speech conference that day. Our partner the United Nations also joined in and helped spread the message around the world.

We had a total reach of 10 000 000 people in over 30 countries with over 130 000 interactions. With only a media investment of €3000 we managed to earn a media value of over €500 000.