In 2014 the Special Olympics European Summer Games took place in Belgium. In big contrast with sports heroes, athletes with intellectual disabilities don’t get the attention they deserve, even though they push their limits just as hard.
THE IDEA
To remove the stigma and get the nation talking about the Special Olympics Games, we made provocative portraits. We used the eyes of Special Olympians and the fame of Belgiums greatest athletes.
We launched a national campaign with a single post of Kevin De Bruyne. Asking a simple question: would you still be a fan? As soon as his picture went online a nationwide discussion took off. After Special Olympics claimed the picture, we rolled out the rest of the campaign, containing print, outdoor and an online film.
THE RESULT
We didn’t only fill stadiums during the Games, we broke the taboo. We got national and international media coverage. And on top of this we used this support so we could force a place at the Belgian Sport Gala 2014 with an online petition. This way Special Olympians finally got the attention they deserve. Because every great performance deserves a great audience.
