On 31 August 2015, hundreds of private nude celebrity pictures were leaked onto the web by a group of hackers. Dubbed ‘The Fappening’ by the internet, the event triggered a global media frenzy, sparking concern about security, privacy and nudity.

We condemned this mass invasion of privacy and asked ourselves: how could we direct all this attention to something more deserving?

We decided to ‘news-jack’ this event by ‘covering up’ the nudity with art to give the Internet something beautiful that everyone could enjoy.

So we initiated ‘The UNfappening’: this involved superimposing the works of Artbox artists on the leaked pictures. Talented artists like Pascal Brander, Johan Kleinjan, Cris Wiegandt and others contributed.

The initiative not only restored the dignity of the famous victims of 'The Fappening’, it also generated a massive and immediate audience for their work amongst top advertising creatives, making Artbox the hottest agency around.

With a fast and smart response to the online phenomenon ‘The Fappening’, we generated free exposure for the talented artists represented by Artbox, such as: Pascal Brander, Johan Kleinjan, Cris Wiegandt, Rhonald Blommestijn, Michiel Baumgarten, Davide Parere, Giulio Iurissevich and others.

The UNfappening quickly upstaged (‘out-viralled’) The Fappening itself. The project attracted over 500,000 visitors, was mentioned by 214+ media outlets (representing a publicity value of €10,000,000), sent social media into a spin and was picked up by many social influencers, including ‘Unofficial Banksy’ and Cindy Gallop.

We created an art movement that has taken the power away from those behind the leaks and redirected it towards celebrating the victims involved in the form of works of art. As a result, Artbox and their artists have been launched onto the global ‘creative industry’ map and traffic to their company website has increased by 60%.