Black Lives Matter: Unsafety Check
Black Lives Matter wanted J. Walter Thompson New York to highlight the constant threat of racial violence and systemic racism faced by Black Americans. The brand needed to powerfully communicate the daily lack of safety, beyond natural disasters, to a broad audience. The challenge was to generate urgent social media awareness and solidarity, making the invisible danger visible and undeniable, prompting widespread recognition of ongoing racial injustice in 2017.
Creative Idea
Black Lives Matter hacked Facebook's Safety Check, letting Black Americans mark themselves unsafe.
Black Lives Matter launched an "Unsafety Check" campaign by hacking Facebook's safety check feature, allowing Black Americans to mark themselves as "unsafe" to highlight the ongoing threat of racial violence and systemic racism in the United States. By using a digital tool typically reserved for natural disasters, the campaign creatively drew attention to the daily danger and lack of safety experienced by Black people, generating social media awareness and solidarity.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Black Lives Matter held the cultural credibility and grassroots influence to turn a digital subversion into a powerful, high-stakes national movement.
Category
The social activism category typically relies on traditional protests or awareness ads; this campaign broke norms by hijacking a utilitarian tech feature.
Customer
Black Americans felt a constant, unacknowledged threat to their lives that standard social media tools failed to recognize or validate as an emergency.
Culture
The 2017 presidential inauguration and MLK Day created a peak moment of political tension regarding the safety and rights of marginalized communities.
Company
Black Lives Matter held the cultural credibility and grassroots influence to turn a digital subversion into a powerful, high-stakes national movement.
Category
The social activism category typically relies on traditional protests or awareness ads; this campaign broke norms by hijacking a utilitarian tech feature.
Strategy:
Hack digital safety utilities to frame systemic racial violence as a permanent, urgent state of emergency for the nation.
Customer
Black Americans felt a constant, unacknowledged threat to their lives that standard social media tools failed to recognize or validate as an emergency.
Culture
The 2017 presidential inauguration and MLK Day created a peak moment of political tension regarding the safety and rights of marginalized communities.
Strategy:
Hack digital safety utilities to frame systemic racial violence as a permanent, urgent state of emergency for the nation.
Results
The video mentions that thousands upon thousands of Black Americans marked themselves unsafe, including prominent Black entrepreneurs like Russell Simmons (co-founder of Def Jam) and celebrities like hip-hop artist and social activist Talib Kweli. It also states that people from all races stood together to support Black people's right to feel safe. The campaign garnered significant media coverage and press, with publications like Mashable, Bustle, The Huffington Post, Fast Company, and others praising its concept. Fast Company called it "Simplicity so brutal it takes the breath away," Bustle described it as "A poignant twist on the Safety Check," and The Huffington Post stated it "Symbolizes the general sense of fear plaguing Black Americans."
Thousands upon thousands
Black Americans marked themselves unsafe
Widespread
media coverage and press
All races
people stood together to support
Strategy Technique
Make the Invisible Visible
The campaign used a familiar tool to expose the daily, often overlooked, threat of racial violence. It made the systemic lack of safety for Black Americans undeniable to a broad audience.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Hijack the Medium
The campaign subverted Facebook's Safety Check feature, originally for natural disasters, to highlight racial violence. This act turned the digital platform itself into a powerful message of ongoing unsafety.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its audacious copywriting, leveraging digital tools and precise copywriting to provoke a powerful, participatory statement on racial injustice.
The precise and impactful naming of 'Unsafety Check' and the direct call to action 'Mark Yourself Unsafe' were central to succinctly communicating the campaign's urgent message.
The technical implementation of the 'Unsafety Check' platform, mimicking and subverting Facebook's existing feature, was crucial for its digital virality and user engagement.
The campaign's power emerged from the seamless integration of a brilliant strategic idea with a functional digital execution, amplified by potent copywriting and a recognizable design, creating a unified and impactful advocacy tool.
