Temptation on Sea Island
In June 2004, the Massive Effort Campaign initiated a web-based campaign to hold G8 leaders accountable for the promises they have made in the past, and those they were scheduled to make at a June 2004 meeting on Sea Island, Georgia, USA. Community participation was the hallmark of this advocacy and information effort, which asked citizens to "vote off" big-name leaders based on their relative failure to live up to their stated commitments to take action to address AIDS.
Communication Strategies
This online campaign is based on the entertainment phenomenon called "reality television". These programmes engage viewers in voting previously-unknown personalities out of a house or into the jungle. Engaged in this popular, enjoyable phenomenon, in the meantime (according to Massive Effort), "we let the 'real world' pass us by without comment." This campaign uses the Internet to urge people to get engaged in one pressing global issue: AIDS.
The Temptation on Sea Island website was set up with colourful illustrations/caricatures of each G8 leader, each of whom was given a nickname suggestive of some of the characters, themes, and titles of reality TV shows such as "The Apprentice" or "Big Brother". These leaders include: Paul Martin (Canada), Jacques Chirac (France), Gerhard Schroeder (Germany), Silvio Berlusconi (Italy), Junichiro Koizumi (Japan), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Tony Blair (UK), and George W. Bush (USA). For each leader, a quotation ("rhetoric") was compared side-by-side with facts and figures indicative of actions that leader has actually taken ("reality"). Organisers explain, "Faced with the records of each G8 leader, our 'viewers' were asked to vote the worst ones off the island. Gerhard Schroeder of Germany 'survived' the competition while the rest were voted off."
An email-based campaign piggybacked on the online voting process to urge citizen participation in the effort. The tone of these messages was activist in nature: "A 'reality show' is coming to Sea Island, Georgia, the site of this year's meeting of G8 leaders. And once again, this cast of eight will be tempted to make more empty promises about fighting the global AIDS pandemic, as they do every year. Help stop this 'Temptation on Sea Island.' Learn what each leader is REALLY doing to fight AIDS. Vote those world leaders with the worst records off the Island. Forward this message to all reality TV fans, concerned citizens, friends and colleagues."
Although the "competition" has been decided, the Temptation on Sea Island website includes information and links that are designed to continue to engage citizens in action to question their leaders' commitments and to learn more about AIDS and AIDS activism. For example, a "Judging the Contests" page invites viewers to "Compare the rhetoric of the G8 leader against the five indicators of their action which are displayed on the voting page. Each indicator is explained below and the sources that we used are cited." A section entitled "The 'Real World' of HIV and AIDS" includes a map and statistics indicating the impact of global AIDS, information on AIDS and the global economy, and links to organisations with information on AIDS. Finally, Massive Effort asks users to "visit the links to AIDS advocacy groups where you can help to make a difference in the real world."
The Temptation on Sea Island website was set up with colourful illustrations/caricatures of each G8 leader, each of whom was given a nickname suggestive of some of the characters, themes, and titles of reality TV shows such as "The Apprentice" or "Big Brother". These leaders include: Paul Martin (Canada), Jacques Chirac (France), Gerhard Schroeder (Germany), Silvio Berlusconi (Italy), Junichiro Koizumi (Japan), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Tony Blair (UK), and George W. Bush (USA). For each leader, a quotation ("rhetoric") was compared side-by-side with facts and figures indicative of actions that leader has actually taken ("reality"). Organisers explain, "Faced with the records of each G8 leader, our 'viewers' were asked to vote the worst ones off the island. Gerhard Schroeder of Germany 'survived' the competition while the rest were voted off."
An email-based campaign piggybacked on the online voting process to urge citizen participation in the effort. The tone of these messages was activist in nature: "A 'reality show' is coming to Sea Island, Georgia, the site of this year's meeting of G8 leaders. And once again, this cast of eight will be tempted to make more empty promises about fighting the global AIDS pandemic, as they do every year. Help stop this 'Temptation on Sea Island.' Learn what each leader is REALLY doing to fight AIDS. Vote those world leaders with the worst records off the Island. Forward this message to all reality TV fans, concerned citizens, friends and colleagues."
Although the "competition" has been decided, the Temptation on Sea Island website includes information and links that are designed to continue to engage citizens in action to question their leaders' commitments and to learn more about AIDS and AIDS activism. For example, a "Judging the Contests" page invites viewers to "Compare the rhetoric of the G8 leader against the five indicators of their action which are displayed on the voting page. Each indicator is explained below and the sources that we used are cited." A section entitled "The 'Real World' of HIV and AIDS" includes a map and statistics indicating the impact of global AIDS, information on AIDS and the global economy, and links to organisations with information on AIDS. Finally, Massive Effort asks users to "visit the links to AIDS advocacy groups where you can help to make a difference in the real world."
Development Issues
HIV/AIDS.
Key Points
President Bush hosted the 30th G8 Summit at Sea Island June 8-10 2004. To read more about the summit, click here.
Sources
Email from Jove Oliver (Senior Communications Manager, Massive Effort Campaign) to The Communication Initiative on June 8 2004; and the Temptation on Sea Island website.
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