Deepnudes are the newest danger lurking in the internet.
Deepnudes are realistic-looking, fake nude images created using artificial intelligence (AI). Recent research shows that 12.8% of Belgian youth are aware of deepnude apps, and 60.5% of them have even attempted to create a deepnude. The impact of these fake images is just as devastating as real ones, with unbearable consequences for the victims such as emotional and reputational damage.
On February 11, Safer Internet Day, VML Belgium and Child Focus, the Belgian centre for missing and sexually exploited children, created an awareness campaign, The Unwearable Wardrobe, statement pieces against online abuse.
VML Belgium and Child Focus joined forces for a symbolic sale on Vinted. On The Unwearable Wardrobe account, victims’ clothing items were listed. Not because they no longer liked them, but because these clothes had become unbearable to wear due to deepnudes. The clothes are not meant to be sold but to tell the story behind each piece: the story of the impact of deepnudes. Every item in the online wardrobe is a statement piece. The description of each garment included the emotional price the victim had to pay. The listed price was €1160.00, a symbolic amount referring to the Child Focus helpline, where victims can seek help and support.
The campaign was launched on social media, with support from Belgian TV personality, Danira Boukhriss Terkessidis, who was a victim of deepnudes herself. This was the first time Danira spoke about her experience publicly. On her Instagram channel, she announced a closet sale. Her followers were without immediately realising it, redirected to the Vinted campaign page, where her story and those of other victims were shared. The day after her surprising stunt, Child Focus claimed the campaign with a campaign film on social media. Other celebrities such as Karen Damen and Veronique De Kock, both past victims of deepfakes, helped spread the campaign further.
This campaign is a wake-up call for young people and society – deepnudes are not a harmless joke but a criminal form of online abuse with far-reaching consequences.
The story behind every garment is told on the campaign site.
Credits
Client: Child Focus
Client Team: Stephan Smets, Stéphanie Leyn, Selyna Ayuso Ferrandiz
Agency: VML
Chief Creative Officer: Klaartje Galle
Executive Creative Directors: Kasper Janssens & Arjen Tarras
Creation: Noa Luiten, Jasper Macken
Strategy: Jef Pelkmans, Gaëlle Maes, Mit Pynenborg
Account Team: Jessica Jacobs, Pieter Van Schil
Design: Davy Dooms
Copywriters: Jelle Raats, Yves Donceel
Agency Producers: Thomas Antoni, Caroline Van Ranst
Editors: Ward Geerts, Andreas De Ridder
Sound Engineer: Menno Van Riet
Production Company: AKA De Mensen
Director & DOP: Lieven Bulckens
