Joseph

Agency: TBWA\Dublin Executive Creative Director: Des Creedon Creative Director: Niall Staines Concept: Adrian O'Sullivan, Ted Barry Director / Photographer: Matthieu Chardon Business Director: Yvonne Caplice

This idea is all about how traffickers profit from the misery of their victims in a perversion of the idea of employment and that it’s okay “Don’t they get jobs”. When often these immigrants are slaves and have no choice but to work in demeaning jobs, with no voice to speak up.   We wanted to counteract this notion of “employment” by using the everyday language of employee rewards and recognition. We used “employee of the month” to show how it means different things for the employer and the employee in these circumstances. Thus highlighting the inhumanity that victims
are forced to endure - but in a very real and affecting manner.   Shot in silence to portray the lack of voice for our victims, we created a series of simple, single shot videos focussing each time on one victim of trafficking. As a counterpoint to the grim footage, we open each film with a blandly positive Employee of the Month opening frame with upbeat voiceovers and optimistic music kicking in over the action. Underlining the point that this is a perverse form of employment where traffickers benefit and the trafficked do not.   And illustrated that because what they put up with is unspeakable. We have to speak up on their behalf.