Changing people’s perception requires a lot more than just an integrated campaign. Instead we went at the core of the problem - we bought the most iconic Polish porn magazine to create a completely different experience by publishing its very last issue in history. Instead of the usual porn content, we focused on issues of sexism, misogyny, gender portrayal and equality. Supported by an integrated campaign designed to ignite a fierce social media debate pre launch and during sales of the magazine. With the post launch phase also transforming the magazine's social media channels into a platform for women's empowerment.

Poland is a country where women earn 18,5% less than men, we do not have effective system solutions preventing discrimination, kids at school do not get equality education, everyday sexism in public space is still socially acceptable. We are a conservative society which objectifies and marginalizes women. Even for the westernized liberal Polish middle class gender inequality is an abstract problem.

Gazeta.pl, is a liberal news portal. It is brand which builds its credibility by social engagement - it is a portal which starts mass discussions about significant social topics. The role of engaged liberal media in time of far-right, anti-women government should be bold and brave. We had to start a serious mass discussion about sexism and gender inequalities. Mastercard and BNP Paribas were ideal partners as they have a long-term commitment of empowering women.

For 27 years, Your Weekend has been Poland’s longest running and most read adult magazine. In December 2018, when it went up for sale, we persuaded Gazeta.pl, our client, along with Mastercard and BNP Paribas, two brands with a long-term commitment to empowering women, to buy the magazine. We planned to shut it down for good, but not before turning it into a beacon for gender inequality.

The Last Ever Issue challenged the established cultural norms it had so significantly contributed to building.

The cover featured an emerging writer, an inspirational actress and a martial arts world champion. Leading Polish female photographers offered powerful positive portrayals of gender and womanhood. The regular sections were reimagined to spark a national conversation on equal rights and sexism. And the online and social channels were transformed into powerful education platforms.

According to the Polish Ministry of Labour, women in Poland earn 18.5% less than men. In 2018, a Polish Public Service Announcement for breast cancer screening explained women should take care of their breasts because men “like to watch them bounce.” And the right-wing president continues his openly anti-woman agenda.

In an era of #MeToo, how is any of this acceptable? Our “a-ha” moment came when we understood that despite these and other startling truths, gender inequality is simply not taken seriously in Poland. It’s considered an abstract problem, not one the average person feels confronted with every day or that they are in a position to change.

From there our mission became clear: We must confront this apathy in the people brought up by “Your Weekend” in a way that’s impossible to ignore.

We realized that if you can’t beat them, buy them.

A teaser campaign a week before the launch created excitement about the magazine’s last issue.

Nationwide offline and online sales were launched on International Women’s Day. Gazeta.pl sold “The Last Ever Issue” through their publisher’s distribution networks such as Empik (a chain of 200+ bookstores), Relay/Inmedio/1 Minute (chain of 1000+ newsagents / convenience stores), publio.pl and kulturalnysklep.pl (online platforms owned by the publisher).

Sales were supported by an integrated campaign including OOH, cinemas, radio, social media and PR. 100+ copies of the magazine were sent out to journalists and influencers which ignited a fierce social media debate. Both Mastercard and BNP Paribas amplified the campaign in their social media channels.

A content section was created at gazeta.pl. It publishes content related to sexism, equality and gender portrayal. This content is redistributed through the media channels of what used to be an objectifying adult magazine.

Our most impressive result is... 0. That’s the amount of impressions of “Your Weekend’s” objectifying content since 08/04/2019.

The campaign organically reached 4.5M people and generated 25M media impressions (Poland’s adult population is c.a. 28M) according to media monitoring services.

“The Last Ever Issue” content generated 500k+ visits to gazeta.pl.

The campaign was mentioned by Poland’s most influential TV shows such as “Pytanie na Sniadanie” and “Szklo Kontaktowe”. It was even featured as the main story on gazeta.pl’s biggest competitor’s news site - onet.pl.

The online edition of the magazine was the best selling e-magazine in Poland of March 2019 (although readership of e-magazines in Poland is still in its infancy).

Projected offline sales make it the best selling issue of “Your Weekend” in 10 years.

But most of all we transformed a vehicle for objectifying women into a platform for education gender equality.

Poland is a conservative society. Sexist statements are all too present in media, and women’s issues like the gender pay gap or underrepresentation of women in politics are ignored. This attitude is propagated by the lack of any equality education in schools. And a dominant Catholic church with a huge influence on public opinion only compounds an already difficult situation. Topics that are not comfortable for the church have been marginalised by politicians and media.

After taking power, the conservative Law and Justice Party the situation of women in Poland became though. Autocratic government has often demonstrated its will to subordinate women. While global movements like #MeToo have made the issues of gender equality and sexism mainstream, in Poland, you have the likes of the most influential conservative politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, claiming that Poland does not have a gender discrimination problem. Poland needed to face its sexism and gender inequality.