Facebook: Lift Black Voices

On May 25th 2020 George Floyd was killed by a cop whilst innocently buying groceries. Unlike many acts of police brutality it was was caught on film and suddenly the world’s eyes opened to the fact that Black people all over the world were still being persecuted, discriminated against and unlawfully killed. There were demonstrations all over the world asking for justice for Floyd and Donald Trump’s defiant replies on Social Media were seen by millions.

Facebook wanted to show its support for Black Lives Matter. So we put our thinking caps on.

We decided to use the Platform as a way to ensure that voices in the Black community gained a reach that was equivalent to Donald Trump. We would ensure equal reach by promoting their voices on our Facebook account and boosting posts with sponsorship.

Working with a black digital artist called Temi Coker we created thumb stopping first frames that played out into to-camera footage where our speakers could say whatever they wanted. These were completely unscripted films - a microphone to speak from the heart. The voices represented a diverse range of backgrounds - including education, LGBT+ Black Rights and black business owners. We created a still quote option to extend the campaign and allow us to feature more voices.

Posts on Social Media

Watch the films

Campaign Logo and Stickers

We created a logo for the campaign which we also made into a range of stickers for people to use on their Facebook Stories, allowing everyone to get involved in the campaign.

Launch

The work launched on Juneteeth, marking that date when all enslaved people were freed in the US, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and was accompanied by announcements by Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandburg.

It was adapted to run in the UK where it won a Shorty Award for Organic Promotion.

The series has been taken on by international teams and has run for over two years.