On Human Rights Day (10th December), the Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights and BBH launched #FAOCEO; a single day LA-based mobile billboard campaign that urged the world’s top CEOs and the leadership of companies that offer health services to invest in the mental well-being of survivors of terrorism, domestic violence, war, and genocide living in Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq, and Syria.

Created by BBH London, the #FAOCEO campaign was made up of a number of interactive mobile billboards featuring QR codes audiences were able to scan to send direct messages to some of the world's top execs including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Cece Morken, Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai.

Billboards were placed in key locations around Hollywood, Santa Monica, and around Amazon and SpaceX headquarters, to maximise visibility and reach the CEOs.

“There are millions of people living in Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq, and Syria who are in desperate need of mental and health care support, and the need keeps growing,” said Joshua Governale, Head of Public Affairs at the Jiyan Foundation. 

He continued: “The conflicts in the region that have been inflicted on them by civil war, terrorism, and outside powers has not only destabilized their communities but also their mental wellbeing leaving many of them at risk of radicalization. The international community, including corporates who are at the forefront of social justices, should commit to providing long-term resources for them.”

The campaign aims not only to grab the attention of CEOs and their employees, but also to enlist the general public in asking the corporate leadership of these companies to expand their Environmental, Social, and Governance programs to include mental health support for people living in this region of the world.

“The issues Jiyan Foundation face are real. They’re having to close down treatment centers, which means those who desperately need help don’t get it. We needed to do something immediately,” explained Oliver Short and Jennifer Ashton, Creatives at BBH London. They continued:  “Rather than letting an email get lost in an inbox, we wanted to go direct to the world’s top CEOs. With a public letter that asks for their help. Our roaming billboard acts like a Trojan horse, hijacking corporate-speak, and these CEOs' names, to get their attention (or that of their employees). If it sparks a conversation, that leads to a partnership, then Jiyan can keep doing their life-saving work.”

The 12-foot three-panel digital mobile billboards featured unique QR codes for each CEO that once scanned sent viewers to a webpage containing Jiyan Foundation’s message to each of them. Once on the webpage, viewers were also prompted to share the message on their own social media channels with the hashtag # FAOCEO.

The collaboration between Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights and BHH London was supported  by The International Exchange (TIE), an  international leadership program that connects commercial businesses with non-commercial organizations to apply their skills and expertise to solving real-life challenges.