1 in 3 young people worldwide and more than 1 in 10 in the Netherlands engage in sexting. Sexting is part of modern sexuality for a generation raised in the world of mobile, with intimate images shared in a bond of trust. But cyber-shaming is growing rapidly in the Netherlands, with devastating consequences. In the past 6 months, over 33.000 Dutch youngsters have had intimate footage shared without their consent, with consequences ranging from depression and loneliness to suicide.

Meanwhile, 12% of young people have forwarded intimate images without considering the life-changing effects on the victim.

Society often blames and shames victims, but working with expert partners as well as those affected, it became clear that the conversation needs to be opened up and responsibility shifted from those who share intimate images, to those who forward those images on.

Online shaming is a problem that lives deep in internet culture. To make an impact, we tackled it through music and community, not campaigns.

To connect with Gen-Z about such a sensitive topic, we collaborated with the biggest artist in Dutch teenage culture: MEAU. MEAU (23), makes intimate, highly personal songs about everyday topics such as love, personal development and loneliness. With over 200k followers on TikTok and almost 200m Spotify streams she is one of the most trusted and influential voices among Gen Z.

MEAU called on her fanbase, inviting them to share their experiences of online shaming. Through a sensitive, and delicately managed process of co-creation and conversation, a groundbreaking and heart-wrenching piece of original music emerged, every lyric informed by real stories shared by her young fans.

This collaborative effort ensured that every aspect of the song—lyrics, melody, and rhythm— would strike the right chord. Together, we crafted a music video which would justice to the extraordinary track. It brought the horrifying consequences of forwarding intimate messages to life and made our insight crystal clear.

The issue isn’t sexting. The issue is deciding to forward intimate images without consent, violating a partner’s trust and exposing them to devastating consequences. Following a music release, rather than conventional media plan, we launched the track on major streaming platforms and digital stores, premiered with the music video on MEAU’s social channels, direct to the fans who inspired it. We further promoted through radio, live performances, and interviews. Four days after release, branded cutdowns appeared in cinemas, TV and online and KPN aired a mini-documentary featuring MEAU’s interviews with victims.

A mix of influencers with personal connection to the topic helped spread the word, sharing the film and their experiences, further shifting the burden of silence and shame.

Every generation has a song that reflects its strongest emotions and is a catalyst for change. For Dutch teens, “A Piece of Me” is that song. It created a powerful cultural movement, achieving extraordinary scale in a country of only 17.7m people.

It was a certified Gold record, overtaking Beyoncé in the charts, No. 2 trending video on YouTube with 29M organic views, and 229M PR impressions. There are over 500 cover versions. We changed the conversation, with +183% uplift in conversations on online shaming, focused on thinking before you forward and hundreds of schools using the video as education. Young victims even used the lyrics as part of witness statements in court.

And we helped change the law, making it illegal to share intimate content without consent. Following its profound impact in the Netherlands, the song was rerecorded in English, set to the same powerful video, to spark a global conversation and protect vulnerable young people worldwide. It has traveled as far afield as Ecuador, Australia and India.