Pharrell Williams and Idris Elba Raise the Bar for Tony’s Chocolonely Online FAIRground
The mission of Tony’s Chocolonely is to make all chocolate 100% slave-free. To underpin this mission, to share the company’s impact and to inspire others, the company has hosted a giant live Annual FAIR in Amsterdam for the last seven years with talks, performances and the presentation of its FAIR report on impact. This year, however, all live events are cancelled, so the brand has reimagined its event for the lockdown era. It has brought an all-star cast together online to ‘raise the bar’ and amplify its global petition to demand human rights legislation that holds companies accountable for abuses in their supply chains.
Tony’s Chocolonely worked closely with digital studio Resn to reimagine the Annual Fair digitally in a way that’s truly Tony’s Chocolonely. Resn’s solution is more than an online event, it’s an immersive experience, plunging visitors into the world of Tony’s Chocolonely with an illustrated digital fairground. Tap the bell for information, follow the activist pen to sign the petition, ask direct questions to the speakers via the world smallest question booth… and much more. Every click is rewarded by a surprise that looks and sounds uniquely Tony’s Chocolonely.
Each guest gets to make their own avatar to ‘enter’ the digital event, a circular experience that revolves in 360° around the user – an idea based on the event’s usual venue, a giant disused silo in a former gas refinery. The entire experience is illustrated and art directed in true Tony’s Chocolonely style: surprising, fun and meaningful. During the almost 1.5 hour-long live show, guests could explore the digital terrain and take part in lots of activities, like listening to music and talks, getting a chance to be featured during the event, witnessing the global “raise the bar” moment with its live Q&A. And, of course, signing the petition to demand legislation that holds companies accountable for illegal child labor and modern slavery in their supply chain.
The theme for Tony’s FAIR 2020 – Let’s raise the bar for social change – was inspired by the global challenges of 2020, which have demonstrated humankind’s resilience and its potential to adapt, find hope and create opportunities by working together.
“After a very challenging 2020, we wanted to use Tony’s FAIR, our annual stakeholder event, to spark hope for a better tomorrow while raising the bar for social change. Resn has helped us reimagine what’s possible in the digital sphere, and created an online platform, our FAIRground, that’s not just a reflection of our values – our fun and outspoken attitude – but an experience that ignited genuine connection and conversation about Tony’s mission.” Sabrina Spong, Movement Lead at Tony's Chocolonely
“Tony’s Chocolonely is a truly magical brand – and one with a higher purpose. Their commitment to impact really shines through in everything that they say and do. To bring this all to life by creating the FAIRground digital experience is one of the highlights of 2020. It shows that even in lockdown creativity and imagination can be applied to bring people together and rally around something good. Now, sign the petition to make chocolate 100% slavery free by law!” Matthijs Horsman, general manager, RESN.
An international line-up of changemakers joined the livestreamed event to give impact-focused talks, including Pharrell Williams; actor and humanitarian Idris Elba; creator of Doughnut Economics Kate Raworth; filmmaker and poet David Boanuh; artist and activist Akwasi; founder of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, Hamdi Ulakaya; and author Rutger Bregman.
