September 21 (today) was declared in 2002 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace, aka Peace Day, by the General Assembly of the United Nations. It is an 'official day' of global ceasefires and non-violence so that aid organisations may carry out life-saving work.
The pro bono campaign, initiated by Ogilvy to London-based non-profit organisation Peace One Day and created by Cmune, is meant to reach millions of online gamers worldwide through UberStrike, a first-person shooter (FPS) game on Facebook.
Aimed at support for and solidarity with the NGO, whose mission to take wide-scale community action to end violence, UberStrike players will see an option to disarm and wave a white flag when they log into their gaming accounts today.
They will also be invited to submit creative screen-captures of their game avatars holding up 'peace flags' in order to win virtual in-game prizes.
O&M China's chief creative officer Graham Fink said the online community is where "more blood is shed than any other", and if violence can be stopped there, "then we can stop it anywhere".
In the real world, there has been escalated violence globally in the Middle East and Asia as well, against the backdrop of Sino-Japan tensions.
"This sends a very strong message of peace which we hope will lead to the largest virtual global reduction of violence ever recorded on a single day,” Fink claimed. The agency says the social game is an "unexpected and clever way" to spread this message.
Credits
Project: “One Day Ceasefire”
Client: Peace One Day
Production Partner: Cmune
Creative agency: Ogilvy & Mather Advertising/Shanghai
Chief Creative Officer: Graham Fink
Executive Creative Director: Francis Wee
Creative Directors: Fiona Chen, Martin Latham
Exposure: Online
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