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Reporters Without Borders' reality check
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A clever and impactful new press and poster campaign for the non-profit organisation repurposes staple reality TV formats as a cultural warning.
In a time of war, climate change and social and economic inequality, reality TV continues to serve as a popular distraction – offering a momentary break from the horrors of the real world.
In this new campaign from agency Åkestam Holst NoA names of popular reality TV programmes are used to urge people to turn their attention back towards reality, no matter how harsh it may be. The campaign, created by creative directors Joakim Khoury and Daniel Vaccino, and creatives Tiago Pinho and Aidaras Lavrinovičius, combines popular reality TV show titles with press images from around the world – including work from Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Sergey Ponomarev, and Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer Wissam Nassar.
“Today it's easier than ever to avoid information," comments Erik Larsson, President of Reporters Without Borders, Sweden. "And, parallel to this, free press is being questions by many un-democratic forces around the globe. We need to remind people of the importance of facts over fiction. Ignorance is a terrifying thing.”
With escapism on the rise, the ads hope to acknowledge the widening gap between fiction and fact, and get people to reflect on their own media consumption habits. “Even if access to journalism is greater than ever, public engagement with hard news is declining," adds Khoury. "As light entertainment and reality TV dominate the global attention span, we wanted to snapshot this paradox and stop people in their tracks.”
