In a bid to raise awareness regarding disabled people and the uncomfortable situations they face daily, aid association AACD and creative agency Z+—a part of multinational advertising and PR company Havas—has put together the “Empathy Objects”. A series of unusual utensils and objects that form an experiment, which makes its participants experience the difficulties disabled people go through daily.
The campaign highlights the importance of AACD’s work and aims to encourage people all over Brazil to donate to the institution, which runs five orthopedic workshops in the country that manufacture more than 55,000 orthopedic products annually.
“Campaigns such as ‘Empathy Objects’ are quite positive for AACD, as they make society more sensitive to the matter and help us raise the funds we need to maintain the excellence of more than 800,000 consultations every year in our nine facilities in Brazil,” Edson Brito, Marketing and Institutional Relations Superintendent at AACD, hints at the association’s importance.
To test people’s empathy, AACD set up a cheeky adventure that took place in a few restaurants in São Paulo. Then, to make things more difficult for the participants, the creative team provided them with a series of unusual, or rather uncomfortable, objects, which are like the usual restaurant equipment you’ve seen before. Items such as chairs, wine glasses, or silverware were carefully placed at the restaurants and produced quite a lot of astonishment – at first.
Their unusual design did give the unsuspecting participant’s dinner a hard time as well. One could say they went through a living hell. But at the end of the experiment, those involved in the project finally realized what’s going on and could read a simple, yet impactful message: “Your world is not like that. Theirs doesn’t have to be either. Help AACD to keep helping. Donate.”
Produced by the São-Paulo-based agency, the unlikely objects were inspired by The Uncomfortable project, by Katerina Kamprani, a Greek architect who created deliberately inconvenient everyday items to make those who interact with them feel discomfort. “Empathy is powerful and capable of transforming relationships. We built this narrative upon this sentiment and want to touch people’s hearts to help the work of AACD,” explains Alexandre Vilela (a.k.a. Xã), the CCO of Z+.
The campaign comes with a short video which runs on YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and Facebook and directs users to the AACD portal, where they can make donations to the cause. Don’t let disabled people feel uncomfortable. Help them have a life as good as the rest of the world!
Credits:
Client: AACD
Agency: Z+
Images: The Uncomfortable
Chief Creative Officer/ Creative Director: Alexandre Vilela (Xã)
Creative Directors: Alexandre Vilela (Xã), Celio Salles, Tarso Soares and Rico Lins
Content Manager: Vanessa Rodrigues
Art Directors: Alexandre Lage (Boca) and Rodrigo Seixas
Writer: Gustavo Zotini
Project Head: Rafael Coelho
Project Managers: Danilo Ferreira and Alexandre Negrão
Production Director: Diego Melo
Senior Producer: Caroline Reis
Producer: Jessica Ramos
Editor / Motion Designer: Francisco Filho and Rafael Rangel
Graphics: Carlos Vieira
3D Illustration: Theodoro Zanotto
3D Illustration / Post-production: Fujocka Creative Images
Customer Service: Roberta Sanches and Adriana Aprigliano
Directors: Lucas and José (Cinza – Trio Full Service)
Executive Producers: Marina Bortoluzo and Lola Santos (Trio Full Service)
CCO Trio Full Service: Luciano Mathias
Audio Producers: Fernando Canedo and Rafael Gomes (Trio Full Service)
Object Designer: Katerina Kamprani
Knife Production: Renato Hollanda Cavalcanti, Tatiana Machnicki and Michelle Rodrigues (Ateliê Miniart)
Knife Finishing: Geison Genga (Ateliê Miniart)
Mug Production: Roger Mutua (Ateliê Miniart)
Mug Painting: Ricardo Muniz (Ateliê Miniart)
Chair Production: Marcelinho Fernandes (Ateliê Miniart)
Glass Production: Elvira Schuartz (Ateliê Espaço Zero)
Color Grading: Marcio Pasqualino (PsychoN’Look)