The Awakening Foundation is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization fighting for gender equality and women's empowerment in Taiwan. Founded in the 1970s and 80s, it advocates for women's rights in both public and private life. Since 1982, the Foundation has led legal and policy victories for women. Through education campaigns and grassroots organizing, it works to dismantle patriarchal institutions, promote women's leadership, gender parity in the workplace, reproductive rights, and family law and justice.
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the petition goal reached in under a week
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Impressions
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YouTubers and KOLs participated & shared the initiative, causing an online uproar
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mainstream media reached
The Challenge
In Taiwan, only 8% of women end up using their frozen eggs—not because they don’t want to. Unmarried women and those in same-sex marriages face a major legal barrier: under a discriminatory law enacted in 2007 and left unchanged ever since, they are denied the right to access their own frozen eggs.
The law requires a woman to be married, and to obtain her husband’s signature—effectively stripping single women and women in same-sex relationships of the right to use their own reproductive material. Shockingly, nearly 80% of women are unaware of this restriction when they decide to freeze their eggs.
Awakening Foundation believes denying women the right to use their own eggs is a denial of reproductive autonomy, highlighting the urgent need for legal reform and greater public awareness.
The Solution
The campaign was built on a powerful creative insight: when reality is already absurd, highlight it with even greater absurdity. At its core, the idea was to expose the irrationality of a law that forced women to get married in order to access their own frozen eggs. What started as a creative concept quickly turned into a public spectacle with real emotional impact.
The campaign amplified the voices of women directly affected by the law, sharing their personal stories in the fight for reproductive autonomy. The boldest moment took place on Mother’s Day, when a middle-aged woman publicly searched for a husband in Taipei’s busiest district—not for love, but to obtain the legal signature required to access her own eggs.
Curious onlookers scanned a QR code, only to discover the unusual terms of this “proposal”: no house, no car, no dates, no romance, no conditions—just a signature and support. The QR code led them to a mobile site that explained the legal issue in detail and invited them to sign a petition for change.
Through this innovative and emotionally resonant approach, the campaign raised public awareness of reproductive rights in Taiwan and helped push the issue toward meaningful legislative reform.
The Results
The campaign rapidly turned a niche issue into a national conversation and a political flashpoint, turning an issue once only concerning a few women into a public discussion crossing gender lines. Many women shared their stories about the struggle to become mothers. Within a week, the Ministry of Health and Welfare officially announced a draft to allow single and same-sex couples to use their frozen eggs, accelerating this legislative amendment process.
What started as a matchmaking action linked thousands of people, joining the conversation about changing the future. More importantly, in the near future, women will no long need to fake a marriage or seek someone else's consent to use their own eggs. That Mother's Day, dentsu Taiwan and Awakening Foundation worked together to give every woman who wants to become a mother a better chance to fulfill her dream.
Countless women shared their personal stories, which were sent directly to legislators and many companies joined the movement, publicly showing their support.
Innovating to Impact
Dentsu Taiwan and Awakening Foundation shed light on the pressing challenges faced by single, divorced, and same-sex relationships for women, emphasizing the importance of bodily autonomy and the right to make choices about their own fertility. Our impactful campaign caught the attention of government bodies, compelling them to take action and revise regulations, ultimately benefiting countless women in the future.
Most importantly: The pressure worked. The Ministry of Health announced a draft bill to allow single women and same-sex couples to use their frozen eggs, accelerating long-overdue legal reform.
Awards Won
2024 4A Creative Awards
- Best Integrated Marketing Communication - SILVER
- Other Sustainable & SDGs Marketing - SILVER
2024 Times Awards
- Marketing - Public Welfare - SILVER
2024 Click Awards
- Effectiveness Marketing - MERIT
2024 DSA/DMA
- Best Social Sustainability Impact - GRAND PRIX
- Best Social Sustainability Impact - GOLD
- Best Mobile Advertising - SILVER
- Best Social Community Content - SILVER
2024 Digitaling Awards
- Technical Unit - Interactive Production - GOLD
- Marketing Unit - Event Marketing - SILVER
- Creative Unit - Interactive Group - Interactive Advertising - BRONZE
- Public Service Unit - Public Welfare – BRONZE
2024 Excellence Agency & Advertiser of the Year
- Social Marketing of the Year - SILVER
- Campaign of the Year - BRONZE
2025 ADFEST
- PR Lotus-BRONZE
2025 The ANDY Awards
- Health & Wellness-GOLD
2025 One Show
- Health & Wellness-MERIT
2025 Cannes Lions
- PR - F. Culture & Context-BRONZE
2025 One Asia
- PUBLIC RELATIONS - Public Relations for Good-GOLD
- CULTURAL IMPACT - Multicultural Impact-SILVER
2025 Campaign Brief The Work
- Health & Pharma-ACCEPTANCE
- Integrated-ACCEPTANCE
- Out of Home - Billboards, Digital Screens, Bus & Bus Shelters, Rail, Taxi-ACCEPTANCE
- PR-ACCEPTANCE
- Work for Good-ACCEPTANCE
- Culture - Local Culture + Insights-ACCEPTANCE
2025 DMA
- Sustainability & Cultural Impact - Best Cultural Impact-GOLD
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