What do the programmes Happy Valley, Whitechapel and Broadchurch have in common, other than being gritty award-winning TV dramas?
Well, you might not realise it at first but they all expose an alarming deterioration of human rights in the UK and an issue which sits at the heart of a new Amnesty International campaign.
Devised by agency Shape History, “Before Our Eyes” challenges viewers to reconsider their perspectives on human rights violations, highlighting that they are not only a distant problem but a reality throughout the UK today.
The genesis of this concept – a trailer that appears to be for a gritty British drama featuring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman and Laurence Olivier Award winner Adrian Lester – originates from a fundamental truth: the British public does care about human rights stories… on the TV.
Amnesty argues that, despite the prevalence of such themes in entertainment media, many people fail to connect these fictional portrayals with the actual reality that human rights in the UK are being eroded.
The film seeks to bridge this gap by employing actors in roles and settings that audiences expect, only to subvert their expectations at the end by revealing that the trailer is not actually for a new drama but exposes the harsh reality that – as the leading actors say – “this isn’t drama, this is real life”.
At the heart of the campaign, Amnesty elevates the role of celebrities beyond spokespeople for a cause, integrating them into a dramatised narrative based on real situations that embrace their storytelling. This strategy aims to capture the audience’s attention, stimulate discussions about human rights and motivate people to take action.
The film will be released in partnership with Pearl & Dean across 335 UK cinemas and 1,240 screens and promoted across various social media platforms.
Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said: “The need to act on human rights violations here in the UK is terrifyingly urgent. The brutal real-life suffering that people are facing right here and right now is something none of us should ignore and it will continue to get worse unless we as a country open our eyes and act.
“We hope the film will be a catalyst for people across the UK to join the fight for rights and say that safe housing, enough healthy food, good and timely healthcare aren’t ‘nice to-haves’ – these are basic human rights which we expect our own Government to protect.
“We need new, firm commitments from political leaders across all parties to protect people’s basic rights and effective ways to enforce those commitments. It’s not just the right thing to do to protect our own citizens, it is critical to protecting the UK’s global position as a leader in rights and standards in law, and a country that the world believes practices what we preach.”
Shape History creative lead Zoë Dawson added: “Having the opportunity to work with household talent was too good to waste on delivering another charity message in the expected format. We believe that using these familiar faces creatively can make people pay attention to human rights abuses in the UK.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Over 31,000 children aged four and under are admitted to hospitals in England each year with respiratory conditions caused or exacerbated by damp and mould; 34 kids died between 2019 and 2022 with homelessness and temporary accommodation factors contributing to their vulnerability, ill heath or death; 29% of children in the UK are living in poverty.
Watch it. Take it in. Act. This is not a drama. This is the reality of 21st century Britain.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘haunting but powerful’ 10 out of 10
