UNHCR: QR/NFC-enabled mobiles on the figurines

PROBLEM
Out of 35 million refugees worldwide. 300,000 are North Koreans. They face the fear of being captured and repatriated to North Korea to be tortured or killed. Despite the NGOs' traditional marketing efforts to raise awareness of their sufferings, many South Koreans, especially those in their 20s, remain indifferent to them.

IDEA
UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, held an exhibition titled "Invisible People" at the Seoul Museum of Art. 30 refugees and their emotional stories were incarnated in the form of figurines, created from advanced 3D scans and prints. Instead of being displayed conventionally the figurines were hidden in the stairways, shelves and windowsills in the museum. So visitors would be attracted to seek them out, like in a scavenger hunt. Once spotted, visitors were engaged by emotional clips about the refugees' sufferings, after tapping their QR/NFC-enabled mobiles on the figurines.

RESULTS
In just three weeks, the exhibition garnered significant interest - 48,216 people visited the exhibition and many encouraging messages were sent to the refugees. Although the campaign wasn't intended to raise funds, 87 people signed up to become sponsors of UNHCR‘s global refugee efforts. In total, 3.5 million people came to know about the refugees through word of mouth, social media and mass media. Due to the success of the campaign, foreign museums have approached UNHCR to hold similar exhibitions in their countries.

Advertising Agency: Cheil Worldwide, Seoul, South Korea

Chief Creative Officer: Jeongkeun Yoo / Executive Creative Director: Thomas Hongtack Kim / Art Director: Seokjin Shin / Copywriters: Songha Lee, Adrian Sim