The Unfiltered History Tour with VICE World News
The bloody history of colonialism sits snugly in the hallways of the British Museum.
In every artefact presented in its glass-case-glory and shiny-plaque-perfectionism, the history of how these pieces of art were brutally stolen from their homelands is conveniently omitted.
For centuries, no tour of the British Museum told the story from the perspective of those to whom it belonged.
Until it did.
In a tour that the British Museum themselves had not a clue about.
The Unfiltered History Tour is an alternative interactive tour of the British Museum’s disputed artefacts through Instagram's Augmented Reality filters and immersive audio. Visitors scan disputed artefacts and unfilter their true histories, through first-ever visual depictions of scenes of colonial crime and ten native experts, who play tour guide in narrating the true histories of artefacts from their homelands.
Created by Dentsu Webchutney, along with VICE World News, the project spanned a timeline of eighteen months, with collaborators across ten countries and timezones.
The true stories of the artefacts can also be heard as a podcast, narrated in the voices of those belonging to the home countries of the respective art pieces, while touring the British Musuem.
In the first month of its release, the campaign saw:
$613K value of Earned Media
320M social impressions
5,200 Tours unfiltered
More so, stories of hope began pouring in from across the world.
Our idea was simple: the only solution to a centuries-old colonial problem is repatriation. Presenting the stories of the stolen artefacts was a step in the direction of the rightful owners reclaiming their past.
As part of the Indian team that led the creation of the campaign, our country's colonial past contributed to the hurt and anger we felt, and it became increasingly important that we filter these sentiments through a sieve of solutions.
Working as the Social Lead on the project was personal to me, as a history enthusiast and student of postcolonial literature.
From research, to identifying contributors, sharpening narratives, presenting the accounts with a focused, journalistic tone of voice, and amplifying the voices of those who deserved to be heard, the campaign radically redefined my perspective as a writer. For the first time, I had to take a step back from a story I was so passionately involved with, and present it just as it is.
One that is powerful enough to change the course of once-popular discourse.
We carefully charted out the journey of the The Unfiltered Tour on digital platforms, primarily Instagram, as that is where majority of the storytelling unfolded.
The Unfiltered History Tour went on to create its legacy as the most awarded Indian campaign in history of Indian advertising.
At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022, the campaign brought home a pride of 12 Lions, including three Grands Prix (Brand Experience & Activation; Radio & Audio; Social & Influencer) and a Titanium Lion.
It earned me the first place in the Lions Creativity Report Rankings for Copywriter of the Year 2022.
