Make a faraway issue feel close to home
There are currently 70.8 million displaced people in the world. The most in history.
How can one day make a difference?
Objective
Prove the power of welcome
With more countries choosing to resettle fewer refugees every year, and the number of refugees continuing to rise, World Refugee Day is a critical moment in raising awareness and support for our current global humanitarian crisis.
The International Rescue Committee partnered with our agency to produce a campaign for World Refugee Day that would inspire the public to renew their commitment to supporting and welcoming refugees.
Strategy
Focus on the past to change the future
Our world would be a far different place if refugees were never embraced and offered a safe home. From art and science, to film and business, to communities across the globe, when refugees are welcome, their contributions shape our world for the better.
So we asked: Imagine what would we lose if refugees lose our support?
The Work
Spotlight refugees who have shaped our world
A series of digital films, each a love letter to a single refugee, served as the narrative core.
We enlisted people from all walks of life to read each letter, including celebrity advocates Lena Headey, Mandy Patinkin, and Keegan-Michael Key, and cut those voices together to create a powerful tribute for all refugees — a global call for welcome.
Create a statement that cannot be missed
We partnered with The Metropolitan Museum of Art on a weeklong exhibition that highlighted works of art created by refugees.
The centerpiece of the experience was a painting by Marc Chagall, shrouded from view to prove what’s lost when refugees lose our support. It was the first time in the museum’s nearly 200-year history for such a stunt.
In the UK, similar activations in the V&A and across the Tate’s four galleries spotlighted works by artists who fled conflict or persecution.
To inspire action, we created an “open letter” on our global websites that invited individuals to sign, and join us in standing for a world that always welcomes and supports the rights of refugees.
A one-day billboard in Times Square, along with subway OOH placements, brought our message to the world in a way that couldn’t be missed on World Refugee Day, and drove passersby to take action by pledging support on our website.
Full-page ads in The New York Times and the UK’s Guardian newspaper also drove readers to the letter, and to commit to supporting future action.
Results
The most successful campaign in IRC history
117MEarned social reach
670K+Activation foot traffic
20%↑Media share of voice
62%↑Website traffic YOY
15K+Petition signatures
The campaign was promoted by Queen to their 43M fans, shared by celebrities including Madeleine Albright, Rashida Jones, Richard Branson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Sting, and supported by 59 IRC partners, including TripAdvisor, the MacArthur Foundation, Ben and Jerry’s, D.C. Comics, and more.
