Under the pretext of asking his partner to marry him, a man uses a video of Ester Expósito to actually emotionally blackmail his girlfriend under the threat of never seeing the daughter they have in common again. It is the heartbreaking story that, movingly interpreted by the actress, is told by the Ministry of Equality’s campaign on the occasion of November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The campaign has been worked on with the creative agency Ogilvy and is titled “The Treasure Hunt.” A story of the same name by the Argentine writer Hernán Casciari is inspired to raise awareness and sensitize citizens about vicarious violence, that which is exercised against sons and daughters, or other family members, to hurt the victim.

Throughout its more than six minutes of duration, the short film exposes what initially seems like a story that begins with a sweet recorded message for a romantic proposal, but little by little the tragic reality of vicarious violence is revealed. As the story progresses, in a sequence shot of a four-minute close-up of Ester Expósito, it is exposed how an abuser uses his own daughter, Amelie, as a weapon of coercion against her mother Inés.

The ad was produced by Rebolución, managed by Hogarth, which also handles post-production. Agustina Macri has been the Director of the piece, which can be seen on Filmin because it is a short film format.

Although the story told in the short film is fiction, the Ministry of Equality seeks to put on the table one of the most extreme expressions of sexist violence, that suffered by hundreds of girls and boys. According to the Government Delegation against Gender Violence, from 2013 to July 2025, a total of 65 minors have been murdered, of which 38 were direct victims of vicarious violence, perpetrated by their fathers or their mothers’ partners or ex-partners.

Ana Redondo, Minister of Equality, has indicated that “murder is the tip of the iceberg“, but there is also “a lot of hidden violence in everyday life that we can consider vicarious violence“. In this sense, he has assured that the campaign aims to “raise awareness, become aware of how complex vicarious violence is and also provide alternatives, be aware that our fight has to be tireless.”.

The intention of the portfolio is also to educate in the early detection of risk signals, reinforce trust in institutional resources and promote social rejection of aggressors. The campaign aims to reinforce confidence in the help resources that already exist, such as 016.

In addition to the spot, the campaign includes a series of graphics that emulate children’s drawings, emphasizing the impact of sexist violence on sons and daughters. They change the definition of vicarious violence or send messages such as “No abuser can be a good father.”