LA SIRENA | END THE SILENCE | 2016
Silence itself was an accomplice to the violence / LA SIRENA "END THE SILENCE"
A live news anchor appeared on air with a bruise on her face, as if she'd been hit. Viewers were stunned. But it wasn't an accident or an incident — it was a live on-air intervention staged by a supermarket chain.
The problem
The Dominican Republic has the sixth-highest rate of domestic violence in the world. Over the past ten years, 2,506 women have lost their lives, yet only 10% of victims ever come forward. Fear and shame had taken away their voices. LA SIRENA is the country's largest retailer, a brand long supported by women. To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, it decided to confront this silence head-on.
The insight
Everything rested on a single idea: silence is what preserves violence and lets it repeat itself. So viewers couldn't just stay spectators — they needed to be pulled in as participants.
The idea
Well-known female news anchors had their faces made up with bruises, as if they'd been struck, before going live. As social media erupted with confusion, the bruises gradually faded over the course of the broadcast. At the end, the anchors themselves explained what the campaign was about. Surprise, confusion, then understanding — that whole chain of reactions became a question aimed at everyday indifference to violence that people had learned to look past.
What happened
The stunt became a talking point across every major TV network, and it was shortlisted in the PR category at Cannes Lions 2016. It also won Silver at several international award shows.
Afterthought
A company that sells goods used the irreversible moment of a live broadcast to say "speak up." That kind of resolve is exactly what builds trust in a brand.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2016
