There are 100 million people around the world in need of artificial limbs. In Togo, some of them have been waiting for almost 20 years. To help solve this problem, Handicap International developed 3D printing technology for prosthetics in an aim to improve access and reduce the wait for war victims stranded in dangerous or inaccessible zones. To develop this technology and scale up the number of beneficiaries, the NGO needed to raise awareness thousands of miles away, in France, to convince institutional and individual donors to support the project. The objective was to raise awareness and funds in France to initiate the 2nd phase of the NGO’s 3D prosthesis project that consists in extending its current geographical reach from Madagascar, Togo and Syria to a broader scale in the near future.

Right before our eyes, broken bodies have been waiting for years to be repaired. People walk past them every day, without even noticing that they’re missing limbs…the statues that adorn our cities. We therefore came up with a unique and simple yet never before seen idea: #Bodycantwait. In order to raise awareness for Handicap International’s 3D prosthesis project and the urgent need for artificial limbs on the other side of the world, we decided to repair the bodies of various Parisian statues with symbolic 3D prosthetic limbs. Over a 24-hour period, each of these statues became spokespersons, delivering one clear message: “No more bodies in the world should have to wait this long to be repaired”. A disruptive image with enough stopping power and viral potential to support our set national awareness objectives… and beyond.

To reach our objective of increasing the number of 3D prosthesis beneficiaries, with Handicap International, we defined two types of targets: - Individuals: the aim being to reach as many as possible in France. And to both open their eyes to the urgency of the situation and gently request their financial contribution. - Institutional donors: the goal being to help support operational and financial partnerships with Handicap International thanks to the operation’s overall awareness. The first target audience was broadly touched via the operation’s virality (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and linkedin) and an impressive number of PR impressions. The second was reached by this successful awareness which led to discussions with institutional donors. Both targets were broadened from national to international audiences thanks to the operation’s success. With 0€ paid media, the campaign generated 4 M€ earned media and 25 million impressions.

The #bodycantwait operation took place on March 6th, 2018 in Paris, a few days before the opening of the Paralympics. We let our cultural heritage speak for the 100 million amputees waiting worldwide and created powerful, symbolic images: broken statues around Paris, including the famous Venus de Milo, various statues in the Jardin des Tuileries and the Parc Monceau, were fitted with fake 3D prosthetic limbs for everyone to see. Over a period of 24 hours, these statues became the spokespersons for our message. These images travelled round the world with no media investment. The AFP and other major French media picked up the operation throughout the day. For one week, articles and TV news all over the globe were advocating our #bodycantwait message, increasing its virality and social media organic reach.

We not only achieved our set awareness objectives in France (coverage from the AFP and major media in France, discussion on popular morning shows), but we even exceeded them by attracting outstanding international PR coverage. Within a week, articles and TV shows were popping up everywhere around the world. The image of the Venus de Milo with arms went viral and was referenced as the world best picture by CNN, the Financial Times, the Telegraph, India Times etc. In total #BodyCantWait was referenced in hundreds of articles worldwide and even made the cover of some of the most read daily newspapers in Europe. With 0€ paid media, the campaign generated 4 M€ earned media and 25 million impressions, reaching millions of people around the world, and helping the 3D technology to be available soon for disabled populations in Western Africa, Middle East and South Asia.