The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering-RDFL landed a prestigious Silver Lion in the PR category at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, for their campaign \u201cYoung 3arous\u201d, which accelerated action against child marriage in the country by running a provoking social PR stunt.<\/p>\n
The PR category at Cannes Lions recognises original thinking, with a strategy rooted in earned media, that influences opinion in order to drive change.<\/p>\n
Tackling the issue of child brides from an entirely new perspective, the \u201cYoung 3arous\u201d campaign prompted the Lebanese nation into realizing that a proposed new law raising the legal age of marriage to 18, had still not been passed by Parliament.<\/p>\n
Fake social media accounts promoting a matchmaking service for underage brides, Young 3arous<\/em>, kicked off the stunt, driving interested parties to its website, from where actors then answered phone calls and took orders for the young brides profiled. \u00a0For people unfamiliar with e-commerce, the matchmaking service offered its child bride assistance in a mall.<\/p>\n Lebanese citizens, activists and influencers quickly reacted, calling on authorities to shut down the service, likening the practice to human trafficking.\u00a0 The nation\u2019s outrage was immediately covered by local and international media. More than 6 million people engaged with the campaign\u2019s integrated efforts, putting pressure on the new government to review the draft law raising the legal age of marriage.<\/p>\n