Situation: The practice of patriarchy is deeply rooted in Bangladesh. Nearly 87% of women in Bangladesh suffer abuse, whether at home or outside. As women have been taught since childhood to endure rather than protest, for generations they have been shackled to the cycle of abuse.

Brief: Devise a campaign that addresses gender-based violence in Bangladesh. Do it in a way that not only drives awareness around it but also takes the form of a concentrated protest against the issue

Objective: Ignite a social movement that would continuously work to eradicate violence against women

Media Insight: Taking selfies and sharing them on social media is a popular form of self-expression nowadays. According to a recent report, people take around 93 million selfies daily.

Since the 18th century, in Bengali culture, the 'tip' has been adorned by woman, placed at the center of their forehead. The tip properly placed, connotes a woman's beauty, strength, and happiness. Even today, it is a trendy beauty accessory adorned by women of all ages as seen on social media.

To help women raise their voices against oppression, we used this very accessory of beauty with a slightly different meaning: defiance against abuse. When the Tip is placed off-center, it instantly creates discomfort and becomes noticeable.

We then provided this as a tool to women to protest against something that stood in the way of their happiness.

As women posted Odd Dot Selfies on social media, this symbolic gesture transformed selfies into a new form of movement, offering a voice to those who are forced to remain silent in face of abuse.

According to the highest circulated national daily in Bangladesh, almost 87% of women in Bangladesh fall victim to abuse, be it physical, mental, or sexual. While it may seem that this scenario is present only within the underprivileged social class, our research team found it the issue is rather prevalent within all the social classes.

To address this issue and build a movement around it, we targeted the women who possess progressive mindsets to embrace change and break so-called societal barriers.

Our approach includes the core intention to deliver the message to women that it's okay to speak up. To achieve that, we tied up with influencers who took the act of wearing ‘tip’ off-centered to social media.

Getting inspired by this, women joined in and turned the act into a nationwide movement.

The movement started with invitation letters sent to prominent female celebrities and influencers. Over 100 celebrities joined the movement and shared their untold stories of abuse, inspiring thousands of women to share theirs with an odd dot selfie on social media and the hashtag #OddDotSelfie.

To further spread this movement, Radio Shadhin and Mongol Deep organized programs and endorsements and uploaded tutorial videos on social media. The movement gained prime-time coverage on television, spreading the message to women everywhere. This protest did not remain confined online. From posters to rallies, art exhibitions to traditional media, the Odd Dot Selfie spread both nationally and internationally. A website and helpline were launched to offer information, support, and counselling.

Timeline: Started from 29 February, 2024, the campaign is still in motion

Placement: Social media portals, popular news portals, prime time coverage on television

Scale: The campaign was implemented nationwide.

Since launch, over 100 prominent celebrities and influencers, joined the movement sharing their ‘Odd Dot Selfie’. Inspired, women from various backgrounds joined the movement with a hefty 68,000+ participants within 30 days. During this period, #OddDotSelfie became #1 trending hashtag across social media.

The campaign garnered significant attention from both local and international media, resulting in PR value exceeding 5.2M USD with 100+ local and global media covering the movement across 19 countries, reaching a staggering 44.9M+ people.

More importantly, the impact extended beyond social media, as the campaign empowered women to seek help when facing abuse. We saw an 80% increase in call center interaction regarding violence, with a 28% increase in cases filed in police stations, 535 women received counseling in our dedicated help center.

Moreover, this movement has doubled the brand love as Odd Dot Selfie continues to be a symbol of protest for women everywhere.