Have you ever heard what people say about Latinos? They're intense, passionate and "macho"—a quality that's often seen as protective.
Obviously, these are stereotypes. Another side of the "Latin man" is that he can be sensitive and expressive. But embracing "machismo" for its good qualities, without examining the bad stuff, can have unpleasant cultural side effects—like controlling behavior, which can lead to femicide, not to mention relatively unpunished rape.
(Hey. Sounds familiar.)
To show its support ahead of an Aug. 13 protest in Peru, Grupo el Comercio-owned newspaper Peru 21, one of the most popular papers in the country, tossed its cover pages into the ring. With help from McCann Lima, the paper converted its front and back pages into signs that protesters could grab off newsstands, flip open and carry in the streets.
Each featured a pink background with phrases like "Violence is not love," "To be silent is to be an accomplice," and "Nobody has the right to touch you." The slogans come from actual physical and sexual violence victims, which number 32 percent of Peruvian women.
Activations included social media and PR.
The protest was a big deal for Peru—it was the first major rally for women's rights. But it's also one more ripple in a movement, "#NiUnaMenos" or "Not One Less," that's gained traction in Latin America over the past year. At its heart, it's a movement against machismo. Marches have spread from Argentina to Mexico, where six women are killed daily.
Of the 25 countries with the highest femicide rates, over half come from Latin America and the Caribbean. Most of the killings go unsolved. In Peru, where 16 women on average are apparently raped every day, the Aug. 13 march numbered about 100,000 people in multiple cities, shouting slogans like, "You touch one of us, you touch us all."
"Peru 21 is a newspaper that aims to give Peruvians a voice in social matters, taking an important role in positive social changes. By embracing this idea, they became an active tool for protesters to be heard even louder," says Mauricio Fernandez Maldonado, general creative director at McCann Lima.
The agency is building a serious social-change-making track record. In March, it showcased the work it's done with South American airline LAN, promoting a program where disadvantaged kids can take free trips to Lima, the country's capital. Over five years, 350 of the poorest kids got to experience air travel for the first time.
A month before that, it shared its efforts for home goods company Sodimac Homecenter, creating a billboard that promotes "resting shelters" for tired long-distance drivers. The shelters included garages outfitted like bedrooms, with wifi, sleep masks and 24-hour security.
The work for Peru 21 is smart, the perfect expression of a medium recognizing its role as a message. But McCann Lima should also be credited for demonstrating the impact an agency, and its clients, can have over a community and a country.
CREDITS
Client: Grupo El Comercio
Product: PERÚ21
Motivo: "Un diario. Una pancarta."
Agency: McCann WorldGroup Lima
General Creative Director: Mauricio Fernandez Maldonado / Christian Caldwell
General Creative: Omar Polo / Giovanni Macco
Accounts director: Mirjana Slavkovic
Account Executive: Maria Gracia Vasquez
Production Director Agency: Alonso Palomino
Agency Producer: Pimi Ravizza
Casa realizadora: Locomotor
Productor Ejecutivo: Carlos Cía Almeida
Directores: Sebastian Vereau / Ariel Ormeño (DOS)
Animaciónes: Raúl Diaz
Audio: Kazoo
Perú21
Director: Juan José Garrido
Editor: Diego Salazar
Hearings Editors: Esther Vargas
Brand Manager: Grethel Morales
Brand coordinator: Marcia Oviedo
Marketing Asistant : Claudia Chávez
Editorial Producer: Christian Saurré
Graphic Editor: Luis Hidalgo
Editora de Actualidad: Mariella Sausa
Editors: Lorena Obregón y Pablo Vilcachagua
Community managers: Natalia León y Esteban Monzón
Design: Jose Carlos Malásquez y Shirley Cjahua