Put Yourself In Their Shoes – Boko Halal | Clapboard Ad Archive

Like-attack - Laut Gegen Nazis | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Like-attack - Laut Gegen Nazis | Clapboard Ad Archive

Laut Gegen Nazis and agency Jung von Matt upended the conventions of digital activism with Like-attack, a 2014 public interest campaign engineered at the sharp intersection of social media, political antagonism, and symbolic disruption. The campaign’s concept was as audacious as it was simple: confront a xenophobic Nazi political group on their own turf—Facebook—by overwhelming their page with visible support from foreigners, turning the Nazi party’s aversion to outside influence into an act of mass exposure. More than a social experiment, this was a purpose-built digital incursion that flipped the dynamic of online hate, using the networks and mechanisms beloved by extremists as a stage for their deepest fear. By coordinating a stream of ‘likes’ from international users and publicly visible engagement, Like-attack transformed mundane interactions into living symbols of inclusion and opposition—an approach that sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem, making diversity itself the voice of rebuttal. Jung von Matt’s strategy emphasized not instruction or moralizing, but direct confrontation—with a soft-power logic tailored for the networked age: visibility as resistance, participation as protest, and presence as provocation. The campaign succeeded in delivering a message at once highly targeted and broadly resonant, as the digital incursion not only disrupted the narrative within the hate group’s echo chamber, but powerfully signaled to broader social audiences how the tools of connectivity can be wielded for social change. This creative deployment of social media in the service of public discourse was characteristic of Jung von Matt’s aptitude to turn insight into impact, and Laut Gegen Nazis’ ability to reclaim visibility from hate to hope, using virality as an operational lever in the fight against xenophobia. In a market category too often defined by either polemic or spectacle, Like-attack stood out by making participation the narrative device—neither didactic nor abstract, but a direct translation of principle into social action. The campaign earns 79/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. As Clapboard’s curated record shows, this campaign marks a shift for public service communication, where the symbolic use of digital channels can do more than merely raise awareness when it turns real engagement into an unmistakable stand against extremism.

Try not to try - City Without Drugs Foundation | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Try not to try - City Without Drugs Foundation | Clapboard Ad Archive

Try not to try from the City Without Drugs Foundation, developed by Red Pepper and launched in Russia in Year 2015, stands as a digital campaign engineered to reframe the conversation surrounding drug prevention through a psychologically nuanced and visually stylized lens. Rather than relying on graphic depictions of addiction or rote testimonial, the work leverages what Clapboard’s taxonomy classifies as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem, delivering its message through a crisp paradox that asks Russian viewers to resist by not exerting overt effort, thus reframing resistance to drugs as an internal, natural state rather than a Herculean act of willpower. This approach sharply diverges from the melodramatic tropes often seen in the market category of public service, replacing fear-based rhetoric with a quiet provocation that encourages introspection and self-possession. By sidestepping literalism and dramatization, the campaign avoids the audience fatigue endemic to anti-drug messaging, making the core idea as much about redefining agency as about prevention itself. The digital-first media asset, designed to maximize impact in a social landscape dominated by online channels, employs bold art direction and polished production values to create a singular, cohesive visual metaphor—delivering a campaign more closely aligned with contemporary communication sensibilities than with dated scare tactics. The involvement of regional organizations and support figures entrench the work in the specific cultural context of Russia, adding a layer of local resonance without surrendering universality, while the choice to provide English language access signals an outward-standing ambition for cross-cultural reach. In a public service category sometimes paralyzed by predictability, Red Pepper’s creative for the City Without Drugs Foundation finds distinction in a constructive ambiguity that leaves room for viewers to bring their own interpretations and emotional responses to the work, which in turn fosters deeper cognitive engagement than direct messaging often achieves. Clapboard rates this 63/100. For a category traditionally constrained by literal warnings, Try not to try demonstrates that symbolism and psychological subtlety can catalyze dialogue more potent than graphic exposition.

Turn Out For What - Rock the Vote | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Turn Out For What - Rock the Vote | Clapboard Ad Archive

Rock the Vote’s Turn Out For What campaign from 2014 is a defining example of contemporary cause marketing that harnessed the full breadth of digital and celebrity influence to drive youth engagement ahead of the US midterm elections. Conceived and executed by Starworks Group, the effort delivered a singular, high-voltage asset engineered to break through apathy in the public service market category by uniting an eclectic roster of cultural figures — from Lil Jon and Lena Dunham to Whoopi Goldberg and Fred Armisen — in a rallying call to action around voter turnout. The creative concept strategically leverages what Clapboard's taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#8—Ongoing Characters or Celebrities, using the combined visibility and voice of multiple personalities to extend reach and strengthen brand recall without relying on a traditional narrative arc. Each celebrity, representing different constituencies and personal motivations to vote, contributed to an overarching message that was both distinctly personal and universally resonant, ensuring the campaign’s relevance to Rock the Vote’s core digital-native demographic. The invitation for individuals to share their own reasons for voting on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram — amplified through the official @rockthevote handle and channel — positioned the campaign as more than a directive, instead making it an interactive exercise in collective advocacy and self-expression. With over 1.1 million views signaling substantial penetration and community response, the work confirmed the staying power of coordinated star presence as a mobilizing tool for civic action. By optimizing polished visuals and constructing a focused yet inclusive call to register and vote via rockthevote.com, Turn Out For What transformed celebrity endorsement from passive advocacy to participatory movement, reinforcing Rock the Vote’s reputation as an innovator in youth political engagement. Clapboard rates this 76/100. For an industry long seeking new language for digital-era mobilization, the campaign stands as a proof point that celebrity-driven storytelling, combined with clear, actionable messaging, can still catalyze meaningful public impact when built for the platforms where audiences live.

Campaign Proposition

The 'Put Yourself In Their Shoes' campaign by Boko Halal leverages a poignant social experiment to reignite public and governmental urgency around the unresolved abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria by Boko Haram in 2014. The brand proposition centers on fostering empathy by asking audiences to intimately understand the trauma endured, thereby reinforcing the moral imperative for sustained action and attention. This approach positions Boko Halal not just as a public interest voice but as a catalyst for renewed advocacy and pressure on authorities to prioritize the girls' safe return. Strategically, the campaign taps into the emotional resonance of the ongoing crisis, moving beyond passive hashtag activism to engage viewers on a deeper, personal level. By situating the message within a documentary-style social experiment, the campaign creates an immersive experience designed to evoke compassion and a sense of shared responsibility among Nigerians and the global audience. The creative angle amplifies the existing global conversation sparked by the #BringBackOurGirls movement, aiming to reinvigorate awareness and action nearly a year and a half after the initial tragedy. Targeting digitally connected viewers through carefully crafted storytelling and culturally relevant soundtracks heightens the campaign’s authenticity and emotional impact, while underscoring the continuing urgency of the issue. This alignment of empathy-driven content with a pressing social cause exemplifies a strategic convergence of emotional insight and public service communication to sustain engagement in a protracted humanitarian concern.

Creative Device

FORMAT#3 SYMBOLIZE THE PROBLEM — Uses symbols or analogies to represent the problem instead of showing it literally. This campaign, "Put Yourself In Their Shoes," leverages a metaphorical title and a documentary/social experiment style to evoke empathy for the abducted Chibok girls, inviting viewers to imagine the victims’ ordeal rather than directly depicting their suffering. The narrative device is symbolic, prompting audiences—via the act of "putting oneself in someone else's shoes"—to viscerally understand the crisis. The absence of a literal problem/solution structure or story arc involving the brand suggests that the creative format centers on analogy and empathic symbolism, not overt storytelling or demonstration. ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats

Competitive Planks

National Orientation Agency (NOA) – Positioned as the Nigerian government’s primary agency for public enlightenment, NOA leverages nationwide reach to promote civic responsibility, national unity, and social welfare, differentiating itself through authoritative messaging and grassroots engagement.

CLEEN Foundation – Focused on public safety and justice reform, CLEEN Foundation positions itself as a watchdog and advocate, using research-driven campaigns and community partnerships to influence policy and improve societal infrastructure.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Nigeria – This organization emphasizes health advocacy, uniquely positioning itself through evidence-based public service campaigns that educate on tobacco risks and influence legislative change to protect public health.

Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) – Positioned on improving urban mobility and public safety, LASTMA’s campaigns focus on law enforcement and behavioral change, using real-life scenarios to encourage responsible road use in Nigeria’s bustling cities.

ActionAid Nigeria – As a nonprofit focusing on poverty eradication and social justice, ActionAid Nigeria differentiates itself through grassroots campaigns that empower marginalized groups, combining storytelling with advocacy to foster societal change.