Allianz France and Ogilvy Paris Launch Cyberbullying Awareness Campaign

Feb. 22, 2024

The French have an expression "Le revers de la médaille". It is similar to the English expression: “two sides to every coin”. Means you can’t have the good part without the bad.

More than 4 out of 10 French people say they have been victims of cyber-violence. The phenomenon particularly affects 18-24 year-olds, 87% of whom have experienced cyber harassment, LGBTQI+ people (85%), racialized people (71%) and women under 35 (65%). Source: Ipsos study "Cyberviolence and cyberharassment: victims' experiences".

With the spotlight on sport this year during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to mark Safer Internet Day, an international prevention day designed to encourage responsible digital behavior, Allianz France chose to tackle cyberbullying through the testimonies of its Team Allianz athletes.

While the glory days of sportsmen and women are well known, the insults and harassment they suffer during their careers are less so. Nor do we always suspect that our own entourage (family, friends, colleagues...) have faced this type of situation. The anti cyberbullying campaign, "Le revers de la médaille" (Every medal has 2 sides), created by Ogilvy Paris, aims to drive impact thanks to the testimonials shared by 8 Team Allianz athletes, who disclose the most telling insults on social they or their peers have had to endure.

Their testimonials of the harassments, verbatim, were engraved on the backs of their medals and displayed at a free exhibition in France staged to highlight the contrast between the prestige of these trophies and the denigration that athletes can face on social media in particular.

Allianz France and 8 Team Allianz athletes are mobilizing against the distress of cyberbullying

Clarisse Agbegnenou, double Olympic judo champion and six-time world champion / Antoine Adelisse, five- time French champion and European champion in Big Air (freestyle skiing) / Oscar Burnham, 3rd in the world slalom championship (para-alpine skiing), French Paralympic Winter Games Team 2022 / Carlota Dudek, French break dance champion 2021 / Michaël Jérémiasz, former world No. 1 and Paralympic wheelchair tennis champion / Juliette Lacome, world junior surfing No. 3 / Loïc Piétri, former world judo champion and member of the Rio 2016 Olympic squad / Typhaine Soldé, handisport athletics, long jump, Vice-champion of France 2020, member of Team France for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The campaign has also been posted on the sports-dedicated Instagram account Le Vestiaire Allianz since February 2, and shared by influencers @manonlanza, @thegingerchloe and @6nissa, who immediately responded, as this is a subject that particularly touches them.

In addition, athletes Carlota Dudek and Typhaine Soldé will talk about their experiences of cyberbullying. These on-camera testimonials will provide an opportunity for them to react to comments from the public on the subject. The videos will be broadcast on the Le Vestiaire Allianz account in March.

Christophe Dépont, Brand, Advertising, Social Networks and Partnerships Director at Allianz France explained:

"Athletes are often the target of harassment and insults of all kinds on social networks, which is the downside of their sporting success. Yet, these athletes are role models for the public. With this campaign, conceived with Ogilvy Paris, revealing their vulnerability to cyber harassment is a way of building trust with the public. With Paris 2024 just a few months away, Allianz France is exploring a clever way of passing the baton from the athlete to the individual through an increasingly worrying societal issue, which unfortunately affects more and more individuals."

 

Benjamin Bregeault, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy Paris added:

"Cyber harassment is an affliction which, tragically, often leads to another: that of silence. This courageous operation should act as a wake-up call to all victims and witnesses of cyberstalking, encouraging them to come forward rather than remain silent."

 

Allianz France supports policyholders faced with cyberbullying

Cyberbullying takes many forms: spreading rumors, repeatedly sending insulting messages... It is an offense punishable by fine and/or imprisonment. Victims can request the removal of publications from their author or the person responsible for the platform, and lodge a complaint. To help them in their efforts, Allianz France offers a "Digital Life Reinforcement" option in its Legal Protection policy. This option covers all members of the policyholder's household, and enables the policyholder to call on the services of legal experts in the event of disputes relating to e-reputation and identity theft.