O&M Amsterdam puts police brutality in the Olympics’ spotlight

Police in Rio have killed more than 2,500 people since the Olympic Games were awarded seven years ago. More than 100 this year, most of them young black men. In 2014, the year that Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup, police killings in Rio de Janeiro state shot up by 40%. Shoot first, ask questions later became the response by police and military to Rio’s need to increase “public security”, Amnesty states on its website.

“Despite the promise that Rio would be a safe Olympic city, the amount of deaths as a result of police bullets increased over the last two years. We ask people all over the world to take action and maximise the pressure on Brazil. The Olympics should be seen as a celebration, not a place for excessive police violence,” added Jan Willem Dol, Amnesty International Netherlands campaign coordinator.

So its agency, Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam has created another Olympics race film. A young black man takes off at the sound of a gun and runs fast. A message appears on the screen, “In Rio, Matheus Silva ran the fastest 100 metres of his life.” But Silva, as it turns out is not running in an athletics competition. He’s running to escape the police with a group of friends. He is shot and killed. Another title tells us that he was innocent and unarmed.

“The police are breaking records in Rio,” a new title notes. The Amnesty ad asks viewers to sign an international petition calling for an end to police violence in Rio.

Sadly, Ogilvy & Mather’s film is based on a true story. And tragically, #PoliceBreakingRecords is perfectly timed. The recent police killings and retaliations in America are still fresh in the minds of people throughout the world.

Credits:

Client: Amnesty International Nederland

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam

Creatives: Djajant Hanenberg, Helen Fernando & Jacques Massardo

Account management: Pauline Landa