Fondation Anne de Gaulle - 'Paris Anne de Gaulle'
The Fondation Anne de Gaulle and Havas Paris needed to combat the invisibility and exclusion of individuals with mental disabilities, particularly in transportation. The challenge was to assert the Foundation's leadership, raise massive awareness, and spark a national conversation to change societal perceptions and enhance support, making mental disability impossible to ignore.
Creative Idea
The Foundation renamed Charles de Gaulle Airport "Paris-Anne de Gaulle" to make mental disabilities impossible to ignore.
The Fondation Anne de Gaulle temporarily renamed Charles de Gaulle Airport to "Paris-Anne de Gaulle" to make mental disabilities impossible to ignore. By transforming the entire airport's signage and traveler experience with Anne's name, the campaign created massive visibility and sparked a national conversation about disability inclusion.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
The Foundation possesses the unique moral authority and historical lineage of the De Gaulle name, enabling a credible claim to France's primary gateway and national identity.
Category
Disability advocacy typically relies on passive PSA campaigns or emotional storytelling that, while well-intentioned, often fails to disrupt the physical and systemic status quo of public infrastructure.
Customer
The public often overlooks individuals with mental disabilities in daily life, yet they are acutely sensitive to disruptions in their personal travel routines and familiar environments.
Culture
As France prepared for the 2024 Olympics, there was a heightened national focus on accessibility and the symbolic power of public institutions to drive social change.
Company
The Foundation possesses the unique moral authority and historical lineage of the De Gaulle name, enabling a credible claim to France's primary gateway and national identity.
Category
Disability advocacy typically relies on passive PSA campaigns or emotional storytelling that, while well-intentioned, often fails to disrupt the physical and systemic status quo of public infrastructure.
Strategy:
Hijack the nation’s most iconic namesake to force visibility for the invisible through a monumental infrastructure identity shift.
Customer
The public often overlooks individuals with mental disabilities in daily life, yet they are acutely sensitive to disruptions in their personal travel routines and familiar environments.
Culture
As France prepared for the 2024 Olympics, there was a heightened national focus on accessibility and the symbolic power of public institutions to drive social change.
Strategy:
Hijack the nation’s most iconic namesake to force visibility for the invisible through a monumental infrastructure identity shift.
Results
+200 published articles in 13 countries, +50 M total reach, +1 M € earned media.
+200
published articles in 13 countries
+50 M
total reach
+1 M €
earned media
Strategy Technique
Make the Invisible Visible
The strategy aimed to make mental disabilities impossible to ignore by forcing their presence into public consciousness. It transformed an overlooked issue into a national conversation.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Hijack the Medium
The campaign hijacked Charles de Gaulle Airport, transforming its entire identity into a canvas for the message. This made mental disabilities impossible to ignore by forcing public interaction.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its strategic use of historical context and its seamless integration of a powerful message into a physical environment, elevating a simple name change into a profound statement on inclusion.
The campaign masterfully uses the contrast between a widely known national hero and his overlooked daughter to create a powerful narrative about inclusion, executed through a surprising and impactful public gesture.
The physical transformation of a major international airport for a week created an immersive and unavoidable experience, forcing millions of people to confront the campaign's message in a highly memorable way.
The strategic selection of an international airport and leveraging diverse media channels (news, social, in-flight, physical signage) ensured broad reach and amplified the message globally, generating significant earned media.
The meticulous execution of changing all visible signage and branding within the airport environment, from luggage tags to giant facade letters, was crucial to making the campaign feel real and impactful.
The true magic of this campaign lies in the synergy between a bold, insightful idea (Strategic Storytelling) and its flawless execution across multiple physical and digital touchpoints (Experiential Marketing, Production Design), amplified by strategic media planning to create a global conversation.
