Don't Look Away
Usher
Issue 39 | June 2016
Agency
AKQA
Creative Team
AKQA São Paulo Creative Directors Diego Machado Hugo Veiga Associate Creative Director Renato Zandoná Art Director Augusto Antunes Copywriter Raphael Valenti
Production Team
Production Account Lead Ricardo Honnegger Project Manager Daniele Wieczorek Producer Leticia Hernandez Digital Strategy Lead Ana Julia Agostinho Digital Media Lead Agnieszka Porada Motion Designer Rafaella Pioto
Other Credits
AKQA London Head of Emerging Technologies Andy Hood Creative Developer Emile Swain Paddy Keane Kathryn Webb Director of Web Development Andrew Smith Site Development Mihnea Belcin Senior User Experience Architect Joanne Alden Associate User Experience Architect Ruth Baughan Senior DevOps Engineer Daniel Mitchell Senior Quality Assurance Analyst Zeeshan Naseer, Quality Assurance Manager Terry Nweze Associate Programme Director Joe Holland
Date
October 2015
Background
Musician Usher released 'Chains' in October 2015, a highly political song tackling the issue of racial profiling and police brutality towards blacks.
While news highlighted high-profile incidents such as the shooting of Trayvon Martin by a white neighbourhood watch volunteer, Usher believed society moved on too quickly without acknowledging the injustice or accepting the need for change.
Usher wanted to find a way to force society to confront the issue.
Idea
Working with AKQA, Usher created a video that viewers could not turn away from. The video, released on streaming service Tidal.com, required viewers to turn on the camera on their computer before they could watch it and then look into the eyes of victims as their faces were shown on screen.
Using facial recognition technology, the camera could detect if the viewer turned away. When they did, the video stopped playing and a message came up: "Don't look away".
Results
Within days, the video was featured on CBS This Morning, NBC, Rolling Stone, Fast Company, The Guardian and Forbes, contributing to more than 500 million earned impressions. Influencers including Cara Delevingne, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jay Z took to social media to express their support. Usher performed 'Chains' for the first time to a sold-out audience at the TIDAL x 1020 Amplified by HTC concert, with proceeds benefiting groups that promoted social impact and change.
Our Thoughts
Usher had a simple point to make: that we turn away too easily from the uncomfortable truth that modern-day America remains blighted by race.
His song, 'Chains', highlights the tragic stories of the likes of Trayvon Brown, 14-year-old Andrew Johnson, or Sean Bell, killed when his car was shot at 50 times on the day of his wedding.
The genius is in the use of technology to make the point clear – that if we turn away, we don't hear the story, or in this case, access to the video.
It's the perfect synthesis of message and medium, made possible by today's technology. It forces Usher's fans - of all colours - to acknowledge continuing injustice.