The #FAOCEO campaign aimed to send a direct message to specific top executives who have the power to invest in the mental wellbeing of survivors of terrorism, domestic violence, war and genocide living in Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq and Syria.

Joshua Governale, head of public affairs at the Jiyan Foundation, says, “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 targeted CEOs and leadership figures of companies that offer health services and support, including Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Elon Musk of Tesla, Bill Gates, Cece Morken of Headspace and Brian Ternan of Health Net. The billboards were driven past the various companies’ headquarters to campaign for change to Environmental, Social and Governance programs.

The mobile billboards also raised awareness of the issue within the public as they were driven around several busy locations including Hollywood, Santa Monica and West LA. Each van featured a unique QR code which sent viewers to a webpage containing further information about Jiyan Foundation’s mission. Once on the webpage, the viewers were then be prompted to share the message on their social media channels with the hashtag #FAOCEO.

Oliver Short and Jennifer Ashton, creatives at BBH London, says, “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 campaign was funded by the International Exchange (TIE), an international leadership program that connects commercial businesses with non-commercial organisations to collaboratively solve real-life problems facing humanity.