Uncomfortable Truth

The Human Rights Foundation hijacked Yeezy ads to boost awareness of forced labor in China.
If you were in New York this week, you no doubt saw posters, newspaper ads, and projections plastering the streets, showcasing a light blue puffer jacket, isolated against a white backdrop with nothing but a QR code to accompany it. A self-assertive announcement of the arrival of the first item in the collaboration between Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and Gap. As with all things Kanye, it generated a lot of attention. Attention which the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) was quick to turn into awareness over one of the biggest issues facing virtually the entire fashion industry today – forced Uyghur and Turkic Muslim labor. To raise public awareness of these conditions and help consumers to think more critically about what goes into their wardrobe, HRF worked with ad agency TAXI to create a reactive advert that would turn a captive audience into help for those in captivity.
In the same style as the original ads, posters featuring a blue jumpsuit (the kind worn by Uyghur prisoners) and a QR code were pasted up throughout NYC. Only, scanning one of these wouldn’t take you to a clothing store, but a page detailing the problem, instead. Once there, visitors could get more information on the issue, and learn how to take action.