Amnesty International - First they came

Role: Creative Lead / Director

The brief: The press is under attack around the wolrd. Last year was the deadliest on record for journalists, with many more being silenced through censorship, violence, and imprisonment.

In the UK, the threats are less visible but no less real. Reporters face legal intimidation, online abuse, and political interference. Independent journalism is being squeezed, while public trust erodes under waves of disinformation and smear campaigns.

Amnesty International wanted to launch a UK brand awareness campaign that brought this vital issue to light and showcased their important work on press freedoms.

The challenge: It’s a tough sell to make the British public sympathetic to the press. So we needed to show how a free press relates to other fundamental rights and is one of the first things to be eroded under far-right fascist movements.

The creative: Bringing Paster Neimoller’s famous “First they came for the communists” poem, originally written in the aftermath of Nazi Germany, into the current age, re-worked to the theme of press freedom. The words were graffitied in a public art stunt, splashed across billboards and print ads and animated and brought to life in a social video.

The result: A powerful and impactful stunt activation, OOH, social videos, social assets, and direct mail campaign.