Brazil is one of the world’s most corrupt countries, and it can be difficult to know which politicians to trust during the election season. A leading consumer protection brand in Brazil called Reclame Aqui created an app that could detect corrupt politicians through facial recognition technology. After scanning the face, the app would share corruption records with users to help them become more informed voters.
Objective and Context:
Reclame Aqui helps more than 85 million people each year by holding corporations accountable to the Brazilian people. The brand expanded its service beyond the corporate world by creating a way to uncover a politician’s corruption records easily. Voting is mandatory in Brazil, and it is important for voters to be informed regarding their candidates. In 2018, more than 4,000 candidates would flood the country with political advertising, and Reclame Aqui would empower Brazilian voters to know the truth about the candidates’ corruption records.
Target Audience:
The target audience were Brazilian men and women from all backgrounds who are over the age of 16, own smartphones, and have the ability to vote.
Creative Strategy:
Through an app equipped with facial recognition technology Reclame Aqui could help Brazilians understand their candidates better and protect themselves against electing a corrupt politician.
Overall Campaign Execution:
“Corruption Detector” is a free app that uses facial recognition technology to share official corruption records with the user. On Election Day, users received a notification reminding them to not to vote for a corrupt politician.
Though Reclame Aqui did not use media to promote the app, the project became a topic of discussion among voters and authorities. Corrupt politicians tried to sue the brand, and clean politicians used the app to promote their integrity.
Mobile Execution:
The Corruption Detector app creatively used data to fight corruption. By integrating Microsoft facial recognition technology with an extensive database of corruption accusations, investigations, and convictions from hundreds of Brazilian courts, the app acts as a bridge between the corrupt politicians' records and the smartphones of every citizen.
When the user pointed his/her smartphone at a candidate’s image online, in the newspaper, on TV, or even in person, the user would see the face of corrupt candidates turn purple to indicate that they have an unsavory record. App users could access the data that evidenced the corruption, and all data organized on the app is available for reference at any time.
In just one week Corruption Detector became the most downloaded App in Brazil, with more than 400,000 downloads. It was ranked number one on the Apps We Love list in the Apple Store and on the Trending Apps List on Google Play.
The app became a national new story that reached over 120 million people.
