We decided to develop a one-of-a-kind art project, which became an impactful advertising campaign and – most important – a fundraising event. The bullshit politicians say everyday were actually brought to life and put in black and white where everyone could see them: the first paintings ever made up with real cow dung. During a provocative exhibition, all the original portraits have been shown to the public and offered for sale by auction. All the revenues were addressed to support the efforts of Reporters Without Borders.

We identified the most meaningful examples of bullshit politicians told us in the last years: biased information and false statements, noticeably denied by journalistic verifications. Then, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day 2015, Reporters Without Borders turned these quotes into a stunning art project and advertising campaign: more than 11 pounds of real cow dung have been collected, becoming the raw material to depict the portraits of seven political figures and their false statements. These unique portraits became the visuals of our print and OOH campaign, where bullshit and actual facts have been put down in black and white and shown to the public. Moreover, the original paintings were offered for sale by auction during a provocative exhibit, that generated a great buzz effect.

We registered a significant improvement of the public awareness towards the cause of Reporters Without Borders, thanks to the audience’s spontaneous sharing of the content: more than 15.000 users reached just in the first day of release; the overall traffic on rsf.it increased by 42%.

The project generated conversations both online and offline: more than 1.000.000 impressions in Italy only. 72% of the reached audience asked for more information about the work of the organization; most important, over 7000€ have been collected in just one day thanks to our auction.