This month we\u2019re celebrating Freedom to Innovate, so why not begin by talking about freedom that was accomplished through an advertising campaign that history will never forget.<\/p>\n
The year was 1988; the country, Chile. It had been 16 \u00bd years since the de facto leader General Augusto Pinochet had assumed power through a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat that deposed the democratically elected Socialist President Salvador Allende. Since then, Chile had been ruled with an iron fist, with no freedom residing with the media. Be it newspaper, or television, everything was heavily policed by the government.<\/p>\n
Democracy was dead, and it would have been that way if not for the external pressure by the UN and the International Community and big businesses. The result? A plebiscite, followed by an election of sorts, where the people would be allowed to vote \u2018Yes\u2019 or \u2018No\u2019 continuance of Pinochet\u2019s term.<\/p>\n
During the plebiscite, media channels would be allowed to advocate both sides of the story. Why they should vote yes, and why they should vote no. History tells us that the \u2018No\u2019 side won with a 56% majority. What many of us don\u2019t know, is how it was achieved through advertising.<\/p>\n
They began with a drab, dreary route of advertising that focused on government\u2019s abuses. What this campaign failed to show is what the people would achieve by voting \u2018No\u2019. That\u2019s when a young ad executive stepped in and stressed on how the \u2018No\u2019 campaign should show abstract concepts like \u2018Happiness\u2019 and \u2018Freedom\u2019. This historic campaign led people to believe in the possibility of a better Chile and a better tomorrow. And they stood up together to say \u2018NO\u2019 to the cruel regime.<\/p>\n