Nada Abisaleh: ‘Creative activism Is about ACTS not ADS’

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'Creative activism is the ultimate ‘Graal’ for communication with social impact at its core. With a changing world, and increasing social and acute political issues, commercial brand communication often seeks to venture in purpose-driven marketing, to give more meaning and substance to their communication and connect with socially conscious users. 

The beauty of creative activism lies in the fact that it pushes the boundaries of creativity and innovation to challenge norms, provoke thought and inspire ACTION. 

At its core, creative activism should seek to disrupt complacency, foster empathy and ignite social consciousness through innovative means. 

The ‘FORM’ is key in creative activism. Almost as important as the CORE. 

That’s why creative activism should leverage a wide spectrum of approaches and creative techniques.

Fundamentally, creative activism is about Acts. Not Ads.

  I have always had a personal and professional inclination for cause-related marketing and gender responsive communication. It’s almost a kind of a love story and an urge- more than a passion - to ignite meaningful conversations and create engagement. But not only! My inner motivation is fueled by the need to shatter the status quo, break taboos and stereotypes, change the world and create a better one. 

This is what we aimed at doing with my partners in crime back then, Bechara (Mouzannar) and Rana (Khoury), and now with Malek (Ghorayeb) and the new generations of creatives.

 "My inner motivation is fueled by the need to shatter the status quo, break taboos and stereotypes, change the world and create a better one."

  A successful activist campaign is measured by the results on the ground. It can go from resonating deeply with the audience to changing laws and policies. Most importantly, an activist campaign should lead to a tangible action, rally people, and create a movement.

Winning in global festivals with activist campaigns should be the cherry on top. Not the end goal. 

All our activist campaigns sparkled debate, created engagement and led to changes on the ground – from Amam05 to Abaad‘s Dirty Laundry, going through Kafa “Legally Bride”, UNWomen “The Missing Piece”, or "The Currency of Corruption for Transparency International Lebanon".

But the most groundbreaking campaign we did, is undoubtedly Abaad’s "#Undress5222", which led to the abolition of article 522 of the Lebanese code, which exonerated a rapist if he married his victim.

Perhaps the most critical matter for clients is to remain true to the cause they are promoting and to the brand they represent. 

Boldness and bravery should not come at the expense of the cause. It is very easy for activist campaigns to fall in the trap of stereotyping, marginalisations and commercialisation, leading to backlash. 

The least thing you want is for brands to come across as opportunistic, being only interested in riding the wave because it is trendy and “in the moment”, forgetting about what their brand or the cause is really about, or for agencies to be motivated by creative awards only.

   At Leo Burnett Beirut we do not go into hard core political campaigns, as per Publicis Groupe policy.
Yet for any socially-driven campaign tackling an important issue, there is a risk for the conversation to drift into political debates and be used to serve other agendas. Thankfully enough we never faced such a situation, as we always make sure to remain true to the cause.

Today’s consumers are engaged in social, political and worldwide matters. 

Naturally they expect their brands to be part of this shift. Brands and companies can no longer limit themselves to sell their product or services. Sales, brand value and brand equity are all intertwined with a bigger societal purpose. Notions such as sustainability, diversity, equality, climate change, good governance etc. are part of any company motto nowadays. 

   More authenticity, integrity and transparency should shape the future of activism in advertising, to ensure a real transformation on the ground. We should aim to balance between campaigning, advocacy and grassroots to shift perceptions. 

For me, creative activism should be about transformative and effective activism, leading to a deep change with societal impact at its core.

Going forward, we should always aim to connect with the culture and be rooted in the social fabric.

Otherwise, creative activism won’t have any future and will go back to what it used to be - pure and lame propaganda.'