Actions speak louder than words. Some of the most effective campaigns show and don’t just tell their message.
When a campaign has chosen its core action message (or what theorists call the “meta-verb,” such as “disrupt,” “resist,” or “confront”), it should not only say it out loud, but also choose protest actions that actually embody this verb.
Die-ins have been one of the most effective ways to protest killings or potential deaths. Since the 1980s, activist group ACT UP has been staging die-ins to protest government inaction amid the deadly HIV epidemic.
© Tim Clary/AP
More recently, in the United Kingdom, transgender activists staged a die-in to protest the government’s decision to ban puberty blockers, asserting that the denial of necessary medical care can kill trans youth.
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On other issues, queer activists can also choose more positive and affirming tactics, such as holding a mock wedding ceremony to protest the ban on same-sex marriage. In Albania, for example, a lesbian couple held an unofficial wedding on the roof of the mayor’s office in May 2024, attended by their twin daughters, other family, and friends. Similar actions have been done in Australia, Ireland, and the United States.
© Reuters
Climate activists have mastered the art of show, don’t tell. We can learn from anti-pollution protesters wearing hazmat suits and gas masks to protest the harm caused by corporations to the environment.
© Darshen Chelliah / Greenpeace
In a similar vein, activists have chained themselves to prison gates to ask for the liberation of unjustly imprisoned people, sometimes political activists.
When a giant fence was built in Quebec City in 2001 to secure the negotiating conference of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, protesters underlined the situation by acting as if they were laying siege to the city.
More recently, WWF used Snapchat, an instant messaging service where messages are erased immediately after being read, to create a powerful campaign to highlight the rapid extinction of species of animals.
In all of these cases, the format of the action carries in itself the message of the campaign.
