Turning a Symbol of Censorship into a Symbol of Freedom / PENGUIN BOOKS "Portuguese (Re)Constitution"

The problem

Portugal lived under a fascist regime for 48 years, during which thousands of people were tortured and killed. The blue pencil was the tool used to censor artists, and became a symbol of oppression. Penguin Random House is a globally respected publisher, but in Portugal it wasn't yet seen as a brand connected to local culture. They needed a book project that could show real knowledge of and love for Portuguese culture. With the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution approaching, and April 25th (4/25), celebrated as Portugal's "Freedom Day," coming up, the challenge was how to pass this history on to younger generations.

The insight

The idea took its inspiration from the technique of blackout poetry: turning the blue pencil, once a tool of oppression, into a tool for creating poetry and illustration. Jury president Lisa Smith described it as using "the power of the simple idea of freedom, and the most primitive medium to execute it — a pencil." The structure is genuinely beautiful: oppression and freedom, two opposite concepts, flipped using the exact same tool. A symbol of suppression became a manifesto of art celebrating freedom.

The idea

FCB Lisbon and Penguin Books handed contemporary artists blue pencils and copies of the fascist-era constitution. The artists chose words from the historical document and blocked out the rest with rich illustration, creating something new and beautiful out of oppressive text. Eleven illustrators each received a page of words chosen by poets, then covered the remaining words with original blue-pencil illustrations, producing 58 original illustrations in total. The project took a year to make: six months for the poets to choose the words, and six months for the illustrators to cover them. Multiple Portuguese writers and artists took part, so their individual expressions layered together into a single book.

What happened

The work was collected into a book, described as "a timeless work celebrating freedom of expression." It was sold through major bookstore chains in an initial print run of 2,500 copies and quickly became a bestseller. With zero investment, it generated an estimated 1 million euros worth of earned media for Penguin Random House. The book has become part of the permanent collection at the Aljube Museum, a former political prison. It's now used in Portuguese schools to teach students about the history of the revolution through art. As one juror put it, capturing the full scope of this work: "The symbolism of defacing a fascist constitution with poetry and illustration isn't just craft and execution at the highest level — it sends a beautiful message about freedom of expression that Portuguese schoolchildren will keep learning from for years to come."

Afterthought

"Turn a tool of oppression into a tool of freedom." That's all it is, really — and yet can there be advertising this powerful, this beautiful, and this deeply rooted in society? What moved me most is that this work went beyond advertising altogether: it became part of history education, entered a museum collection, and became part of the nation's memory. Advertising doesn't have to be something that gets consumed and forgotten. Made properly, it can become culture. It can become history. This piece makes you believe that. I'm genuinely glad this is the work that gave Portugal its first Grand Prix.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2022

Featured in

• Only the Ones Marked 'First'Reading through the Grand Prix records in order, from the very first in 1954 to 2022

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