What’s an American flag without the red and blue? THINGS takes politically and emotionally charged objects and strips them down to their simplest state. By presenting these items without color – just white on white – we’re creating a blank slate for people to reflect on what these THINGS mean to them. For example, a police badge might mean safety for some but fear to others – and a gun could bring protection or extinction. The project kicked off with social posts featuring these THINGS alongside a phone number inviting people to “Leave Your Message.” Thousands of voicemails poured in, which we reposted as a way to continue the conversation on social media. We expanded internationally by creating new THINGS relevant to issues facing the UK, France, Belgium and more.

In collaboration with the artist Andrew Miller of Brand Spirit, VICELAND conducted extensive research to identify today’s most pressing and divisive political issues. When choosing the objects to best represent these issues, we were careful to pick things that would inspire an immediate, emotional response. For example, the image of a passport might represent freedom to some but confinement to others. To further strip these items of their usual associations we painted them entirely white, effectively distilling them into basic shapes. Instead of bright lighting, we shot them in a more monotone style to evoke the feeling of a memory. Originally we presented these images for an almost uncomfortable amount of time before tagging out the spot with a phone number and the line, “Leave your message.” This allowed the viewer a moment to think – and the image to speak for itself

In the wake of the U.S. presidential election, people were frustrated and needed desperately to express it. As a brand known for its strong opinions, VICELAND wanted to be a part of the political conversation by letting our viewers do the talking. VICELAND viewers are like no other – raw, unfiltered, hilarious and heartfelt. We wanted to give them a platform to express themselves and find a way to engage with them that felt authentic and unscripted, just like VICELAND itself. These simple, iconic executions broke through the everyday clutter to provide moments of reflection. And what started as an Instagram campaign grew into an international platform for discussion, unifying people of all social, political and cultural backgrounds in the knowledge that listening is just as important as being heard.