Amnesty International takes action to prevent and put an end to human rights violations. Like all humanitarian organizations, Amnesty wanted to attract people's attention to the work they do. Quebecers, like most Westerners, are constantly bombarded with ads. We rarely take the time to stop and reflect, and when we do it's usually to give our opinion on social media. This right of expression is bestowed on some, but not all people around the globe are so lucky. Thus, Amnesty International wanted the right of expression to be associated with the fight for human rights.
The goal was to establish a connection between Amnesty International and Human Rights Day. With no budget whatsoever, the organization needed to get people to take some form of action, increase traffic to Amnesty's website, and generate donations.
Dec. 10 is Human Rights Day – but few people are aware of it. Through the "Minute of silence, minute of hope" campaign, Amnesty International took over the day and encouraged people to make a symbolic gesture in support of the fight for human rights. The idea was to get people to attach value to time and take theirs to stop and reflect.
The strategy was to use creative pieces that were 60 seconds long or that required people to bow their heads to read in order to encourage reflection on the part of the target audience (those who are well-educated, well-travelled and open to the world). In short, this minute of silence was improvised.
In a show of solidarity, many celebrities and public figures accepted to change their profile picture on social media for one in which their head is bowed, showing they are reflecting and observing a minute of silence. To elicit an emotional response from people, a personal message was added to the photo to shine a light on real-world injustices (e.g. "In Yemen, my 7-year-old daughter could be sold and married against her will. On December 10, I'm observing a #minuteofhope amnistie.ca").
The movement quickly gathered momentum and was largely talked about in the media. People followed, changing their profile picture on Facebook and sharing a link to Amnesty's website, which was taking donations.
Many media partners agreed to donate ad space. The aim of the ads was to make the minute of reflection a reality and all in the span of a day (i.e. on Dec. 10).
In universities, four large murals extended onto the floor and forced people to bow their heads. La Presse+ ran a one-minute video of students bowing their heads as they read what was on the floor.
A text, which took roughly a minute to read, was placed alongside a hard-hitting visual from Amnesty International and ran in the Dec. 10 editions of La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal and Métro newspapers.
A minute-long radio spot, punctuated by long silences, was broadcast in more than 40 cities across Quebec. Minute-long video banners were also posted province-wide.
Results show a strong commitment to the cause and strong association to Human Rights Day. There were 7.8 million impressions with only $320,000 worth of media (provided for free by media partners). On Twitter, 60 or so unique contributors reached roughly 174,026 users, and there was a 789% increase in visitors to amnesty.ca. Also, there was a 1,110% increase in donations – all this with no budget.