Campaign Uses Thermal Imaging to Highlight ‘Social Coldness’ Towards Homeless People in Germany

In the past decade, the number of homeless people who have died from frostbite in Germany has dramatically increased by 500%. Contrary to the belief that climate change would only bring warmer winters, days and nights with hard frost are on the rise, putting homeless people in extreme danger.

Homeless people lack access to protective measures like warm clothing, and compensatory measures like alcohol are not only ineffective but also treacherous. Homelessness is not only a lack of body warmth but also a lack of social warmth and attention from fellow human beings.

To bring attention to this social problem, fiftyfifty and Havas Germany present 'Winter in Germany', a campaign featuring thermal images of real homeless people in Düsseldorf exposed to the cold. The images show how warm passers-by, marked orange/red by the thermal images, overlook the homeless, who blend in with the cold, bluish surroundings due to their supercooled body temperature.

Hubert Ostendorf, founder of fiftyfifty: "Homelessness is the most blatant form of poverty. Especially in a rich country like Germany. The campaign of Havas Germany for fiftyfifty points to this scandal impressively. We want to shake things up and call for support from civil society and politics. Because homelessness can be overcome by giving people off the street a place to live – just as we have done over 80 times with our Housing First program."

"They are haunting snapshots that can only inspire us to rethink at second glance. An effect that catches us in the act of not looking well enough – even though we could," adds Eric Schoeffler, CCO Havas Germany and ECD Europe. "We hope that we can reach many people with this measure and raise awareness of the life-threatening situation of homeless people."

The campaign aims to inspire people to take a second look at their fellow human beings, raise awareness of the life-threatening situation of homeless people, and call for support from civil society and politics. 'Winter in Germany' can be seen widely in the Düsseldorf area through various media, including print, cinema, and an elaborately designed mural in Düsseldorf-Flingern.