TV is the strongest and most impactful medium in Turkey, and changing the course of action unexpectedly in a TV show has a very surprising effect. When millions of people sat in front of their TVs for two of their most favourite series and a morning show – they noticed something different: the lead women and actresses were missing from the programmes. Creating this moment of surprise enabled us to convey our main message, “If your favourite show worked like how Turkey works today, your favourite show wouldn’t be”. We were clearly able to say to the audience that without women, it is in fact impossible to continue your life in the same way and that everyone should support our cause.

The campaign had started in December 2012 with a TV campaign using only spots and some print, but our use of TV programmes in March 2013 revived the forgotten cause. This second phase gave a boost to the donations made to the Women Empowerment in Economy platform, increasing the total donation figures by 23% compared to the initial launch period.