Cannes Lions
LOWE-SSP3, Bogota / MINISTRY OF DEFENCE / 2012
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Description
For more than 60 years, Colombia has been fighting against the oldest guerrilla group in the world: FARC. This time, we needed to make an action to invite them to demobilise and go back home. The problem is that everyday they hide deeper in the jungle, so it's very difficult for us to make them catch our messages.We found out that Christmas is the most emotional and hard time for guerrillas, because it's when they feel further from their families and their loved ones.As Guerrillas don't use any of the traditional media because of theie war conditions, the rivers from all over the country have become their most important channels of communication and transportation. Every FARC base camp is built close to any river of the country. The rivers go to the most intimate point of the illegal armed forces - more than any other media.
Execution
We planned and executed a military operation. We made an official announcement trough traditional media (such as TV, radio, press), inviting guerrilla's relatives and friends, people from war-affected towns, and people from all over the country, to send messages, letters and gifts, inviting guerrillas to leave the weapons, and come back home this Christmas.We put all this stuff in lighting airtight capsules, illuminating the rivers nearest to their camps, and their way to the freedom.
Outcome
- We sent 6,823 messages and gifts inviting them to demobilise.- We got 1 demobilisation every 6 hours, between December and January.- In December 23th, we had one of the most historical demobilisation in the Colombian Pacific, in which an important leader demobilised with 9 more guerrillas and lot of military stuff.- This military stuff represents 6% of all the military stuff in the history of the demobilisation programme.- Demobilisation levels of under-18s, grew by 10%.- The President himself, and all the people from his government, joined the campaign, and also sent messages to the rivers.
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