Until Death Do Us Part, a Campaign That United the Region

Femicide is the dark side of our region. It is no longer a periodic news item but a terrifying everyday reality. The statistics are devastating, and the horrifying reality that repeats so often risks becoming invisible. It is even more painful that women are most often harmed by someone they loved.

When the system fails, must we as a society react? The answer is “YES,” but how? By not turning our heads and closing our eyes but by learning how to recognize warning signs in our surroundings.

In the regional campaign ‘Until Death Do Us Part‘ aimed at preventing femicide, the Autonomous Women’s Center from Serbia, the Autonomous Women’s House from Croatia, the United Women Foundation from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National Network for Ending Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence from North Macedonia, the Society for the Prevention of Violence in Sports and Domestic Violence from Slovenia, the Center for Women’s Rights from Montenegro, the Alliance for Protection Against Domestic Violence from Bulgaria, and the Center for Gender Equality and Development from Albania have joined forces.

The campaign is focused on informing and educating the public on how to recognize behavioral patterns that often lead to femicide and how to help someone who is in potential danger. It represents an appeal to the community to recognize and act preventively to prevent future cases of femicide.

The campaign was designed by the agency McCann Belgrade and is being implemented with the support of creative and media teams from the region, which together form the AMA Group: McCann Zagreb, McCann Ljubljana, McCann Sarajevo, McCann Skopje, McCann Podgorica, and McCann Tirana, UM Belgrade, UM Zagreb, UM Sarajevo, UM Podgorica, UM Skopje, UM Sofia, and UM Tirana. The campaign partners are the agency Two Rivers and NN Media Production.

Black Wedding Dress Mourns and Warns

– Our challenge was to ensure that femicide does not remain at the level of devastating statistics but that the message penetrates the heart, awakens empathy, breaks the wall of indifference, and calls for action. We turned the white wedding dress, a universal symbol of love, into black. This inversion is not just visual but conceptual: what once meant a happy beginning now warns of an end that must not happen. This symbol is intentionally harsh, dramatic, and unpleasant to the eye. The black wedding dress on the street acts as a scene that should not exist, just as femicide should not exist. This clash of the expected and the forbidden immediately raises questions, provokes a reaction, and that is the first step towards change – says Jana Savić Rastovac, creative director of McCann Belgrade.

A Multilayered Campaign That Lasts: From Silent Provocation to a Strong Movement

In collaboration with fashion designers from the region, Marija Tarlać, Miomir Jelčić, Matea Benedeti, Boris Ćalić, Edis Pal, Adnan Hajrulahović Haad, Monika Kocareva, and Ilirian Baša, eight unique black wedding dresses were created.

The models appeared in them on the central streets of eight capital cities. They stood silently and motionless, holding bouquets in their hands. Each flower represented one name, a story of one life that has vanished. Mysterious women in black wedding dresses sparked serious debate. What is this? Who are they? Why are they here? The silence remained deafening.

After a few days, the campaign was presented to the public at events in Belgrade, Zagreb, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Skopje, Ljubljana, Sofia, and Tirana, and the truth was revealed. The black wedding dress is not a new fashion cry but a voice against the silence that kills.

– When we create and implement socially responsible campaigns, we do not just communicate ideas but values. In eight markets, we share the same problems, but also the same determination to change them. This is the first joint regional campaign against femicide and shows that borders disappear when we unite around what is important. Such campaigns are the voice of those who no longer have one and a call not to close our eyes but to react – adds Maja Antić, CEO of AMA Group.

Social Media Unites and Calls for Action

The black wedding dress, which remains silent on the streets, spoke loudly on social media. Posts revealed harsh numbers that force us to confront and reflect, exposing patterns of control that masquerade as love and offering clear steps, not only for women suffering from violence but also for relatives, friends, neighbors, and witnesses. Each message has the same goal – to empower, inform, connect, show that silence is not safety, and that reaction is the only path to change.

Let’s Recognize the Signs, Break the Silence

The campaign ‘Until Death Do Us Part’ reminds us that femicide is not a sudden tragedy but the last act of violence that could have been recognized and prevented. The message is clear: react, support, do not close the door. Because home, which should be the safest place, remains the most dangerous for women.