As we’re a new site but want to be an overall resource I felt it might be good to showcase some of what I feel are the best ethical marketing campaigns from the past, this one is one which was released in 2012, unlike some of the others we have featured this was a smaller and more focussed campaign but just as important:
This campaign was a joint endeavour between Refuge, who opened the world’s first safe house for women and children escaping domestic violence in Chiswick, West London, in 1971, and make-up artist Lauren Luke. Lauren Luke is a make-up artist known as Panacea81 online. She creates makeup tutorials on her YouTube channel, Panacea81, which has over 135 million views and over 539,000 subscribers. In 2012, Refuge got Lauren Luke to create a video in which she applied makeup to cover up obvious signs of battery.
Lauren wrote under the video:
Hia Everyone,
Hope you’re all well?
I’m not feeling 100% today so I’ve done a video on how to look your best the morning after.
Sorry if I’m not me usual perky self but the look turned out great and I think it’s perfect whether you’re off out or just staying home with your other half.
Thanks so much for watching, sharing, liking and most of all supporting all that I do.
For more info on today’s look go here http://www.refuge.org.uk/lauren
#dontcoveritup
Zoom zoom!
Lauren 🙂
Refuge state on their website:
“Thousands of women experience domestic violence in this country every day. Yet many women are too frightened to speak out – instead they try to cover up the abuse. At Refuge we want women to break the silence, to realise they are not alone and to reach out and get help and support.
Hiding the physical effects of domestic violence is just one of the ways a woman might try to cover up what her partner has done to her. She may also withdraw from seeing her family and friends and become isolated, afraid to tell anyone what she’s going through. The emotional and psychological effects of domestic violence are undetectable to the naked eye – but this type of abuse is equally, if not more, damaging. Lauren’s cuts, bruises and fear are fictitious. But for thousands of women this is the reality of their everyday lives.
Domestic violence is a hidden crime. Help bring the issue out of the shadows. By sharing this film and taking action you can make a positive difference to the future of women and children who experience domestic violence.”
Lauren explained a bit about why she did the video here:
Speaking to Adweek at the time Lauren stated:
“The bruising on my face for the video wasn’t real, but my emotions in that video were,” she says. “I had a bad experience in the past with a previous boyfriend. He never physically hurt me but I did sometimes fear what would happen next if I said the wrong thing. He could be overprotective and embarrass me in front of my work colleagues or friends because of his aggressive behavior. Sometimes it was like living with a volcano which could erupt at any second—I felt I was walking on egg shells just to keep him from exploding and smashing something across the room.”
She adds: “To open up and be honest about something like this makes us feel weak among our friends and family, but in actual fact there is nothing weak about it. Those who are abusive behind closed doors are the ones who are weak. Back then I knew the whole situation wasn’t normal, but I didn’t know about the help that is out there. And that is why I wanted to work with Refuge—to get the message out to anyone who may need help and support that it’s time to stop covering it up.”
The campaign itself was orchestrated by BHH. BBH creative director Pablo Marques called Luke’s YouTube channel “the perfect medium” for the message, and added: “The juxtaposition between Lauren’s calm attitude and her graphic injuries will come as a great surprise to her audience. Yet the sad reality of domestic violence is that countless women live with violence and fear and cover up the problem on a daily basis.”
This is a nice piece of targeted marketing, Lauren has over 540,000 subscribers and 137 million views on youtube so this also makes it a great example of utilising social media influencers, having a recognised influencer like Lauren Luke deliver your message get’s it across to a lot of people. Although this may not be a global multi platform campaign like many, this one is a campaign that is likely to be watched and attention to the powerful message will be paid by over half a million subscribers.
Links
http://www.refuge.org.uk/lauren/
https://www.youtube.com/user/panacea81
