CITY PRESS ‘DISAPPEARING FREEDOM’
Integrated Campaign
In late November 2011, South Africa held its breath as its government debated passing the Protection of State Information Bill without a Public Protection clause. The country was divided on whether the Bill would result in the gagging of the media, and an infringement of our hard-fought constitutional right to Freedom of Speech.
Our client, City Press, a newspaper that is usually published on a Sunday, set out to show the dangers of the Bill.
CITY PRESS HOMEPAGE PAGE TAKEOVER
Over a period of 5 days we staged a page takeover on the City Press homepage. When someone landed on www.citypress.co.za, the news started to disappear. Once all of the news on the page had vanished, our message appeared...
Copy: Read the facts while you still can.
City Press opposes the Protection of State Information Bill.
A click took you back to the news.
Awards:
Cannes Shortlist
Loerie Finalist (Internet Advertising)
THE BLANK NEWSPAPER EDITION
Newspaper / Best tactical use of media
To demonstrate what might happen if the Bill was actually passed through Parliament, City Press printed a completely blank newspaper. On a Friday. On the very last page of the newspaper, it said “Read the facts while you still can.” This newspaper was delivered to 3000 of South Africa’s top businessmen, radio DJ’s and influencers. And was also made available to regular South Africans.
There was a marked spike in sales on Sunday 27 November and an increase in traffic to their website. Traffic increased 400% with 65% of these views being from first-time visitors. The campaign enjoyed significant Twitter impressions from key opinion leaders, as well as word of mouth, social media, and mentions on Facebook, which all drove traffic to the website. In fact, impressions on Twitter led to a 30% conversion to visits to the City Press website. It was also mentioned by prominent DJs on national radio. The project was executed in 36 hours, yet provided City Press with a loud voice in the debate.
Credits:
Client - City Press
Agency - Ogilvy Johannesburg
ECD - Fran Luckin
CD - Bridget Johnson
Art Director/Creative Group Head - Marion Bryan
Copywriter - David Krueger
Digital Producer - Thoughtcorp / Ogilvy One
Photographer - Huw Morris