Art Directors: Shelley Smoler, Nadja Lossgott ( TBWA )
Copywriters: Raphael Basckin ( TBWA )
Creative Directors: Nicholas Hulley, Damon Stapleton ( TBWA )
The Mugabe regime has destroyed Zimbabwe. It has presided over the brutal oppression of the opposition, a cholera crises, massive food shortages and the total collapse of their economy. Furthermore anyone brave enough to report this has been bullied, beaten and driven into exile. One such group is ‘the Zimbabwean Newspaper’. However, not content with having hounded these journalists out, the regime has slapped an import ‘luxury’ duty of over 55% on them which makes the paper unaffordable for the average Zimbabwean. In order to subsidize the paper they need to sell it in England and South Africa, to raise the foreign currency.
A unique campaign was devised to promote the paper to raise awareness and increase readership. One of the most eloquent symbols of Zimbabwe’s collapse is the Z$100 trillion dollar note, a symptom of their world record inflation. This note cannot buy anything, not even a loaf of bread. The engraved images on the notes show a country that was once not only technologically advanced, but astoundingly beautiful. It is the cruellest irony that these notes are, themselves, the very tools the ZANU regime uses to destroy these Zimbabwean achievements.
They are a powerful reminder about Zimbabwe’s plight and the need to hold someone accountable.
Money Wallpaper
Johannesburg 2009
Size: 1,5x5m
Medium: Banknotes
A wall mural for ‘The Zimbabwean Newspaper’ made up of worthless Zimbabwean bank notes. A trillion Zimbabwean dollars can’t even buy you bread , it can’t even buy you the paper to print your message on, so you might as well turn the money into wallpaper.
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