Protest Stamps
Correos
Issue 54 | March 2020
Agency
Shackleton
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director Nacho Guilló Creative Tania Riera Illustrator Iván Solbes
Production Team
Director of Audio Visual Production Manuela Zamora Production Cristina Cortizas Postproduction Paloma Martín, Juan Manuel Acosta Digital Production Lucía García, Patricia Torregrosa, Nuria San José, Elisa Besada, Cecilia Pastorino
Other Credits
Account Team Elvis Santos, Borja López- Gómez, Elena Gómez Vega Graphic Studio Josué Hernández Social Media Team Alexandra Parra, Laura Yébenes Social Listening Jose Carlos Vicioso, Marta Pinilla
Date
November 2019
Background
In December of 2019, Madrid hosted a World Climate Summit. This was held in the immediate vicinity of Correos (the Spanish postal service) headquarters.
To mark the occasion, Correos wanted to pitch in by helping to convey the summit’s global message of climate change awareness and responsibility.
Idea
No media travels the world quite like the humble postage stamp. On an envelope, a stamp can end up anywhere in the world, in any building in any country.
The idea, then, was to use stamps as a vehicle for a social message that needed to be heard.
A series of (official) postage stamps was made, which, instead of bearing the usual faces, buildings or commemorations, gave way to the voice of a new generation.
The banners that were seen at demonstrations against climate change all over the world were put on the stamps, making them small but powerful platforms for an urgent message.
“There is No Planet B”, “Save Earth” and “Act Now or Swim Later” were some of the messages found on signs that were placed on legally valid stamps worldwide.
Protest Stamps were made available for purchase on the Correos website and at an office located 200 meters from the Climate Summit.
Results
The campaign appeared more than 60 times in mainstream media, reaching more than 2 million users.
Our Thoughts
I’ve always thought of stamps as posters, but smaller. They are a real test of creativity, which is why some of the most admired designers in the world have enjoyed composing them.
These have the punchiness of conviction, posters that reveal the astonishing creativity of ordinary people.
In turning every letter with one of these stamps into out-of-home media, Correos has been a lot braver than 99.9% of other brands, who continue to avoid getting involved in an issue that threatens us all.