Yo Estuve Ahí (I was there)

Medals Won

• 🥇 GOLD – Best Use of Predictive AI
• 🥈 SILVER – Best Use of Social
• 🥇 GOLD – Most Outstanding Creative

Campaign Overview

In Argentina, more than 100 children are currently missing from their homes. To address this, Missing Children Argentina, a nonprofit dedicated to reuniting families, launched the Yo Estuve Ahí (I Was There) campaign.

Timed with the anniversary of Argentina’s World Cup victory, the campaign leveraged AI-powered facial recognition and massive social participation to search for missing children. By asking people to upload their celebration photos, the campaign turned a moment of national joy into a powerful tool for social impact.

Creative Concept

The campaign transformed a cultural phenomenon into a tool for change:

• AI-Driven Search: A shared Google Photos album allowed users to upload World Cup celebration photos, which AI scanned for matches with missing children’s faces.
• Crowd-Powered Visibility: Encouraged Argentines to use a custom photo frame featuring a missing child’s face and name when sharing their images on social media.
• Emotional Context: Leveraged the collective memory and celebration of the World Cup to inspire solidarity and participation.

Execution Strategy

1. Digital Invitations: Created templates and digital assets inviting people to upload their photos.
2. Social Media Amplification: Partnered with influencers to spread the campaign across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, ensuring maximum visibility.
3. Media Outreach: Secured coverage on major news platforms to extend reach beyond social networks.

Impact and Results

The campaign delivered profound outcomes:

• 10M+ people reached within just four days.
• Thousands of photos uploaded to the shared album.
• Most importantly, two missing children, Evelin Solange and Máximo David, were reunited with their families.

Why It Worked

By tapping into a moment of national pride and using advanced AI technology, Yo Estuve Ahí turned personal celebration into collective action. Its innovative and emotionally resonant approach not only drove awareness but also delivered tangible, life-changing results, making it a benchmark for social impact campaigns.