NO campaign

Chile 1988
In 1988 due to political pressure from world leaders Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, usually referred to as President Augusto Pinochet, was forced to hold a referendum on his leadership. As a General in the Chilean Army but supported by fellow officers in the Navy, Air Force and Police he had taken power in 1973 by force from the elected Socialist President Salvador Allende.The years 1973 - 1988 were a disaster for many Chileans, the armed services and police were brutal there was no free press and massive corruption.

The film by Pablo Larraín, born in Chile in 1973, is about, René, a young advertising executive and short film maker who is working for the NO campaign, the consortium who wish to see an end to the hated Pinochet. Life in Chile in 1988 was never easy or without complications. René as a junior partner in the advertising agency finds his boss works for the YES campaign but this never shows itself as a problem, typical of the many absurdities the Chilean people had to cope with. And quite a mild form of irritant when placed alongside the more brutal and sometimes lethal possibilities that could come their way. The 1988 Chilean referendum was by no means the first political campaign to use advertising techniques.