Penguin Random House is one of the most respected publishers in the world. However. Despite having published influential Portuguese authors, Penguin is not yet seen as a brand connected with the local culture.

The publisher wanted a book project capable of showing its knowledge and love for the Portuguese culture. Capable of generating engagement with Portuguese readers and awareness through earned media.

With a print run of 2.500 copies, the book became available in the leading bookstore chains of the county, quickly becoming a bestseller.

For more than 40 years, the Portuguese lived under a fascist dictatorship, which tortured and killed thousands of people. The blue pencil, used to censor artists, became a symbol of repression.

On the Carnation Revolution’s 50º anniversary, Penguin Books offered blue pencils to contemporary artists so that, inspired by the blackout poetry technique, they could re-invent the fascist constitution with poems using words selected from the historic document and illustrations covering the remaining ones. A symbol of repression turned into an art manifesto celebrating freedom.

Penguin Random House is the world’s most global trade book publisher, having 250 widely recognized and respected publishing divisions, imprints, and brands. The primary target audience for this book is Portuguese readers, men, and women between 30 and 60 years.

Inspired by the black-out poetry technique, 11 illustrators covered a historical document with their blue pencils, giving birth to 58 original illustrations in perfect harmony with the poems. A symbol of repression turned into an art manifesto celebrating freedom.

Each illustrator received a different page with the words already selected by the poets. They now had to cover the remaining ones with an original illustration made with a blue pencil. That's why, despite the different illustration styles, they have remarkable synchrony. The process took a year, 6 months for the poets to find their poems in the document, and 6 months for the illustrators to cover the remaining words with their illustrations.

With a print run of 2.500 copies, the book became available in the leading bookstore chains of the county, quickly becoming a bestseller.

The book grabbed the media's attention, being showcased on prime TV, the country's biggest radio stations, newspapers, and podcasts. With zero euros invested, the Portuguese (Re)Constitution gave 1 million in earned media to the Penguin Random House brand.

The book is now part of the permanent collection of the Aljube Museum, which is based in a former political prison. And It's being used at Portuguese schools to teach students the history of the revolution through art.