Here’s a campaign you may have seen from the Cannes coverage this year, and that is worthy of its own mention. It revolves around the role that technology continues to play in the ‘Arab Spring’.
In Tunisia, the tensions which climaxed two years ago have not fully abated. As in neighbouring regions, Football Stadia has been especially vulnerable to outbreaks of violence, which has often led to a policy of playing matches behind closed doors. It’s something that badly undermines the nature of the competition, and it was something one team was keen to overcome. So, setting up 40 Loud Speakers in the stadium, they released an app through which fans were encouraged to express their support, by wildly tapping on different preset noises. The more fans tapping simultaneously, the louder the noise became…
93,100 fans, watching on TV with mobiles in hand, cheered their team on to victory in what is normally a 12,000 (empty) seat stadium. It’s another great example how technology can turn a negative situation, into a very positive one…
