Within a few months, Tunisia went from decades of dictatorship and only 1 political party to its first ever free and fair elections: 1,600 candidates to choose from and over-exposure to countless political messages and advertising. As a direct result of the confusion that arose, many had completely lost interest in politics. Only 55% at best would go and vote, thus forgetting the main objective of the Revolution: Democracy for Tunisia. Engagement Citoyen, a non-profit organisation that aims to promote Tunisians' democratic awakening, asked us to convert this apathy into action and inspire a higher turnout at upcoming elections.

The message spread immediately (30% share rate), generating tens of thousands of calls for action, +461% visits on Engagement Citoyen's website and countless media coverage everywhere. People spontaneously changed their social media profile picture into our second poster. Within a few hours, getting out and voting had become the ultimate act of the revolutionary process. In the evening it was aired on all Tunisian and Arabic channel news. The next day, it spread worldwide. Most importantly, we made people take that final crucial step and actually vote as 88% turnout was reached. Far higher than the expected 55%.

We needed to re-activate people's political engagement with a strong and effective reminder. So we set up a provocative and visually engaging stunt. We put back Ben Ali's giant poster in La Goulette and let people experience the real danger of abstention: the return of dictatorship!The poster provoked protests leading the people to tear it down. But when they did so, they discovered another one underneath: 'Beware, dictatorship can return. On October 23rd, vote.' + a URL for neutral and simple informations on the candidates' programmes. The event was posted online in order to spread the message.

Tunisians are fiercely protective of what they have achieved. They are willing to defend it with their lives. A return to the old status quo would be unthinkable. With such a low turnout there was genuine concern that one of the old regime's partisans could be elected. They were mobilised and well organised. As people kept ignoring the power and consequences their vote could have in helping democracy, it was vital to remind them that if they didn't vote, their Revolution was in vain. And do it in the most tangible and physical way so that they could rally around.