The virus with the crown

To the detriment of all horoscopes and popular trend sites, 2020 opened under the banner of COVID-19, which brought everyone one certainty: the improbability of things. It could be said that someone predicted all this. Bill Gates in a 2015 TED Talk described this scenario by stating that we would not be ready, and indeed we are not. Erudite Sapiens sapiens - we divorced years ago from a Nature that now enjoys it, showing no resentment. In the series: 'He who praises himself gets cheated'.

What we are living through is undoubtedly an interesting period, which will be talked about for a long time and which will be accompanied - like all historical periods - by literature, poetry, political cartoons, media hot spots, and also by a visual language of 'propaganda'. Propaganda, understood as "the dissemination of ideas or information with the aim of inducing specific attitudes and actions" is the theme proposed by the United Nations in its call to action to creatives around the world. As a communications agency, we decided to respond to the call and to do so, we asked ourselves some questions: 'How do you communicate at such a time? How do you get millions of people to behave in a certain way, but above all, is there a way to communicate around the world with the same visual language?" We answered this by creating an advertising poster with all the necessary elements. We tell you about them one by one.

Communicating the problem by provoking curiosity

Covid-19 is a disease that attacks humans, is transmitted from human to human and only humans can understand how to cure it. It is such an anthropocentric pandemic that the problem seems to be man himself. This means that mankind must accept that it is the problem, the cause of all evil. The enemy. Not the Americans, the Chinese, the Germans or the Japanese - all of us, bar none. The message must say in the simplest way possible - obviously without creating panic - that mankind is the problem but can avoid contracting the disease with a few simple steps:

- Wash your hands

- Keep your distance

- Avoid misinformation

- Be kind

- Donate

To align everyone's message, the UN has provided these vignettes

The subject

Reasoning anthropocentrically, the message should be sent by a new anthropomorphic god who does not contract the virus. But are we sure we would accept advice from one who is the same as us but can get out? Then if not a man, if not a god from whom would we take advice on how to survive? Maybe from a Virus, one with the Crown. No longer from a god but from a king. The subject of the proposed poster is the Corona virus or rather the Virus with a crown. On an expressive level, the realisation asked us an important question: Is the virus bad or good? In the end, being a character, we were able to manage its expressiveness according to the occasion.

Basically he is good but he is a 'bully'. He is a little 'bitchy' but he is also very caring. He has the crown because like any king, he has a lot of responsibility. His aim is to change people's behaviour and make them realise that they are faced with a great opportunity. We decided to portray him as a character to get attached to because he will be with us for a long time, so it is better to get to know him and respect him even though sometimes getting attached could be dangerous. He is a bit self-centred and that is why he is the subject of his own advertising campaign.

A king communicates in an imperative tone

The virus is part of us and we have to live with it, it is within us. It is in the air - the source of life. It is alive and part of life. The virus is our king and like any king it gives orders, it does not ask for things but imposes them:

Wash your hands!

Maintain physical distancing!

Do more, donate!

And why should we trust him? Because he is an influencer.