Brand ········· Getty Images & fiftyfifty
Agency ······ Havas Germany


Repicturing
Homeless


Homeless people became
stock photo models

People see the homeless as poor, desperate, and beyond help. Existing campaigns simply re-affirm such stereotypes, and ask people to donate out of sympathy.

Instead of following down the spiral of pity, Getty Images partnered with fiftyfifty (a street magazine sold by homeless people), to help shift the negative public perceptions of the homeless, and collect donations in a meaningful way.
















—

“Hard To Believe!”








The Photos

Stock photos are abundant with common people scenarios. We took advantage of this feature to help people “repicture” the homeless as the same human beings as anyone of us, while turning an established online business into a long-term fundraising tool. In the first round, 129 photos were uploaded to gettyimages.com and istockphoto.com for people worldwide to purchase.









—
“Anyone who thinks he has no prejudice
should see these photos”



















Online Films

To promote the project, we created a series of online films, each focused on the story of one of our homeless models.

—
“An Alliance Against Visual Stereotypes”






Photo Exhibitions

The exhibition toured around Germany. In each town it visited, it became a popular educational venue for local schools, and brought along more exposure for the project. People can interact with each photo on display and purchase it online.

Düsseldorf, Johannes Church, hosted by Diakonie,
Apr. - May 2018;


Ahlen, St.Marien Church, hosted by Caritas, Sept. 2018;

Nuremberg, Conference hosted by DGS, Sept. 2018;


Cologne, Annual Conference of DGPPN, Nov. 2018;

Baden, Film Festival in Baden-Baden, May - Jun. 2019;

Duisburg, Church Petershof, Oct. - Nov. 2019;

Hattersheim, House of St. Martin, Feb. - Apr. 2020; 




















The mayor of Hattersheim (Germany) visited the exhibition at the House of St. Martin, on March 3, 2020.

—
“Respect Instead Of Prejudice”






Global Development

The project started out as an initiative in Germany, but more photographers and homeless NGOs around the world joined in. More photos were added to the collection from US, Hong Kong, Brazil, etc., turning the campaign into a global movement.







—
“Comes Out Of The Shackles
Where Gloom And Pity Prevail”







Results








Even the President of Germany applauded the project in his annual Christmas Letter.






155M+ TOTAL REACH
€‎1.4M+ EARNED MEDIA