Bola Pra Frente Institute - Shots of Change (2017) (Brazil)

"Shots of Change." is an idea as simple as it is brilliant. Bullet holes found in walls in Favela do Muquiço, one of the most violent favelas in Rio de Janeiro, were turned into billboards telling parents that there was an alternative to their kids being on the streets. Favela do Muquiço has been forgotten by the State and is controlled by crime, which uses kids as labour force in drug trafficking. Parents needed to know there is a way out, and these unique billboards showed them where.

In this community is the Bola Pra Frente Institute, an NGO created by the 1994 World Cup Winner Jorginho, which works to keep kids away from drug trafficking through sports and education. Despite being established in the community there are parents that have never heard about the non-profit organisations' work. 600 spots for kids to come and learn team building sports and studies were empty, due to this. The target group was thus very narrow - reach the parents, show them that their children need not becomes drug runners. The media was non-existent as there are no traditional out of home billboards in the favela.

There are however bullet holes, scattered on the walls of Favela do Muquiço. Everywhere, as scars from past violence. These were used as a canvas, transforming them from bullet holes to football strategies. The message on each new graffiti billboard created was "Life changes inside the four lines."

The graffiti reached the parents who would pass on their way to work, changed the scenery of the Favela, and accomplished its mission; getting 600 kids enrolled into the Bola Pra Frente Institute. Very well done.

Ad agency: Agência3, Rio de Janeiro.