Activism – Creative things that make you stop and think
“Be the change you want to see in the world” – Ghandi
This is probably the most referenced quote in positive thinking and activism we have. It’s a small piece of genius from a brilliant mind with clear purpose; accessible and inspiring, evocative but concise.
Great creative is exactly that; accessible and inspiring, evocative but concise.
When it comes to activism and the messages that people want to amplify, they need to adhere to the same great creative criteria. Protests and activism always come with multiple layered and intricate or complicated stories to tell. Great creative makes it seem effortless, but it’s a remarkable skill to lasso the detail into a campaign poster, ad or story.
Take this for example, seems simple – print picture of target or “challenge” and place where people can voice their opinion. Creative agency Don’t Panic placed the posters around London and asked people to stick their discarded chewing gum to Boris’ face, a literal “Stick It To The Man” protest. But the devil is in the detail – when sitting down to plan they definitely asked; why a small poster and not a statue? Why the colour scheme? Why this location? Which image? Copy or nah?
George McCallum of Don’t Panic quoted: “It can be easy to feel helpless and ignored when faced with our current sticky political situation. The posters allow people to enjoy micro-moments of civil disobedience, having their voices heard whilst keeping our pavements clear of gum.”
Each of the posters bears the hashtag #stickittotheman. In your face, Boris!
We’ve all surely seen the Banksy stunt where a high prices piece of art shredded itself on purchase at auction:
Here are some brilliant examples of activism creative which take away the need for me to explain anything about them… (tap to see full view)