Borders Don’t Divide Us

Creative idea

A border is just a line. Yet sometimes, that simple mark is all it takes to make what is right next to us feel like another world. We can be just a few metres from another country and still see it as somewhere far away. Somehow, places beyond a border can feel much farther than they really are. Maybe it’s because we give that boundary more importance than it actually has. It can make a country and its people seem completely different from us. And that’s where preconceptions begin. Before we ever experience what lies beyond it, we already have an idea of what the place is like and who we might find there. “Borders Don’t Divide Us” is a two-poster series that looks at these boundaries from a different perspective. We want to turn every dividing line into a point that brings us closer, making it easier to discover new people and cultures and leave behind the preconceptions we have about them. In Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau, the border between Belgium and the Netherlands runs through streets, buildings and homes. In Derby Line, Vermont, and Stanstead, Quebec, the US-Canada border runs right through the Haskell Free Library. In the two posters, we place our perceptions of each side next to the reality of the neighbouring country. The Mastercard contactless symbol then replaces the physical boundary on the road, turning a mark of separation into a sign of connection. Mastercard brings people, places and experiences closer, making it easier to move beyond what keeps us apart. Because beyond borders, we’re only one tap away. The idea can travel to any border with a story to tell. Streets, buildings, bridges and everyday places can become meeting points, with the Mastercard symbol integrated into the existing lines like a watermark, turning them into reminders of how close we really are.

Agency: DDB Bucharest
Authors: Andreea Iacob & Răzvan Adam