Every year, Amnesty International realeases its annual report : the sum of one year investigations led by Amnesty researchers everywhere in the world. This report is massively used by journalists as a detailed and reliable source of informations.

This year, Amnesty International wanted to further use this report to increase its visibility and affinity among 20-45 years old.

We were facing one challenge : to be interested by a NGO, people want to know they have a positive impact on the world : it is the second most important criteria after “we share the same values” (source Harris Interactive for Amnesty International France 2023). So, telling them that we investigate wasn’t enough ; we had to show them that these investigations had an immediate effect, which is not easy on such big issues as human rights.

Also, our budget was very small, so we had to be surprising.

We started with a well known adage : stories need great villains, great opponents. And Amnesty International is one of the few NGO with so many great opponents : authoritarian governements, obviously, but also the White House and the French Governments and every powers that at some points attacked human rights and became the target of the NGO’s investigations.

There is even a wikipedia page dedicated to the threats and attacks received by Amnesty International.

When so many powerful people attack you, isn’t it the best sign that you have an impact on them ?

Our creative idea : the most hated book of all those who hate human rights.

This idea was also an answer to the current critics about our supposed lack of neutrality: when everyone attacks you, it probably means you don’t take sides.

The Amnesty campaign was conceived to impact audiences sequentially. Each of the seven visuals featured a different artistic direction, along with claims that were surprising and made people curious to learn more. Words were used to enhance the visuals, and the visuals, in turn, strengthened the impact of the words on each print, creating a seamless progression from one to the next.

The campaign had a very positive impact in France, reaching two key audiences. Firstly, it resonated with journalists to whom Amnesty International sent the campaign along with the annual report. As a result, the NGO achieved a 30% increase in media coverage around the annual report compared to previous years, which was a huge victory for them. Secondly, the campaign was also a success through people as evidenced by numerous mentions on social media platforms. The NGO experienced a 24% increase in its social media followers.