We wanted to send a message using communication subject to mass surveillance. We made it possible to change your ordinary Out of Office reply to a personal message from Edward Snowden.

All digital communication is monitored and basically anything you say, write or do online is being watched by the American government. This means every phone call, every email and every text message is being read and evaluated. This is a clear violation of human rights. We used the same channels subject to mass surveillance and made it possible to change your ordinary Out of Office reply to a personal message from Edward Snowden. The message, paired with the call to sign the appeal, was accessed at snowdenoutofoffice.com

• Implementation

We set up a site: snowdenoutofoffice.com where everyone could download messages for their phone voicemail, as well as copy and use messages for their email auto-replies and other private media channels. The site also led visitors to a page where they could sign the petition for Snowdens pardon.

• Media channels and integration

The media itself was part of the message. A lot of people became aware of the global mass scale surveillance of personal emails and phone calls when Mr. Snowden exposed it, and utilizing these very channels made the underlying message of the campaign poignant.

• Timeline

It is customary for an American President leaving office to grant Presidential pardons to prisoners. As Barrack Obama’s second term was coming to an end Amnesty International was campaigning for the release of Edward Snowden and other whistle blowers, who were persecuted or imprisoned for sharing information about government activities breaching human rights.

• Action/business results – sales, donations, site traffic, achievement against business target

• Outcomes/awareness - change in behaviour, reach, public opinion, content response

The activity generated a lot of attention and that more than one million people signed the petition for the pardon of Edward Snowden.