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MullenLowe New York and Mediahub launch The UNseen Story, a call to end the violence against women that is on the rise behind the closed doors of the COVID-19 pandemic

MullenLowe New York and Mediahub published an exposé on legal loopholes, one of the most important preventive measures needed to end violence against women and girls around the world in a non-profit campaign for UN women.

As violence against women has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and an additional 15 million women are expected to be affected by violence every three months, the company's UNseen Story campaign aims to evoke visceral responses to the various forms of violence that occur Women are confronted in the form of censored images that are shocking to imagine, with a copy that is not pronounced apologetically.

The ad campaign is rendered through a series of heavily pixelated images and headlines, including “This is a photo of a man beating his wife” that should never be shown publicly. "This is a photo of a man raping his wife" is paired with a pixelated image that is against government regulations to be broadcast on the radio news.

"This is a female genital mutilation photo" with an image that is blurry and unidentifiable, forcing the imagination to conjure what is happening to women and girls in many parts of the world.

While the images featured in the campaign were created from nonviolent scenes rather than images of people experiencing violence in any form, the effect they create when pixelated and juxtaposed with headlines is thought-provoking and profoundly effective.

These are just some of the executions of the campaign, which coincides with 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign that starts on November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and runs through December 10th, day of the Human rights.

Ending violence against women and girls requires effective laws and their implementation, as well as strong policies, funding for essential services and organizations responding to this crisis, and a culture change that challenges stereotypes and societal norms that affect survivors Gender issues often put violence to shame, ”said Oisika Chakrabarti, director of communications and advocacy at the United Nations.

“We are grateful to MullenLowe New York and Mediahub for launching this provocative advertising campaign that sparked a much-needed dialogue, and we hope that renewed sense of urgency, advocacy and action will be part of the solution to end the violence against Women is and girls. "

MullenLowe New York's creatives brought this pro bono idea to UN Women. This was originally an activism project sparked by concern over reports of the increase in violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mediahub, partner of the media agency, stepped into action, securing like-minded media partners the donation of premium ad space to reach audiences prepared to take action to end gender-based violence.

“This was a real passion project for MullenLowe New York. I was moved from the first time I saw the work, which is such a direct and powerful way to bring a taboo subject to the fore, "said Rebekah Pagis, general manager of MullenLowe New York. "If we are to fight gender-based violence, we need to be able to talk about it, and this work is an important step along the way."

The campaign is brought to life in the US and UK through digital ad, OLV, out-of-home and print, from wild postings in New York to print ads in top London newspapers.

Mediahub's US and UK teams looked for value media partners to reach out to Gen Zs and Millennials who are politically active, philanthropic and inclined to donate. Mediahub secured over $ 1.2M / £ 898,000 in donated media in the US from generous partners including Vox Media, NBCUniversal, NBCU CODE, Teads, Captivate, Lamar Advertising and Clear Channel.

In the UK, the agency has raised over $ 450,000 / £ 337,000 in donated media from partners including Clear Channel UK, The Guardian, Ocean Outdoor, The Telegraph, MiQ, Teads, Hearst and Mobsta.

At the time of this writing, work is being carried out primarily in the US and UK.