Powerful reminders of everyday issues are at the heart of this week's Creative Corner
Happy Friday, what a lovely sunny week it has been.
I’m writing this feeling stuffed from eating too many flipping pancakes – loved the Tesco upside-down billboards celebrating the occasion BTW - which was a brief respite from another week of world issues filling our timelines.
It’s set against this backdrop that my eye this week has been turned towards a series of creative campaigns that provide powerful reminders of some of the everyday issues facing different parts of society, namely, pollution, child bullying, and, as we approach International Women’s Day, women’s safety.
Issues worth talking about.
Because you don’t know that it’s toxic
To promote Toxic Town, its latest factual drama, Netflix has erected a set of giant billboards that use data from Acu Weather to change their appearance - for the worse, not the better.
In an attempt to raise awareness of Britain’s poor air quality, the streaming giant’s interactive billboards promoting the new show become harder to view depending on the real-time air quality levels of the city in which they are placed. If the air quality is ‘good’, you will see a full poster for the series. If the air quality is ‘poor’, the billboards are covered in a cloud of white smoke.
Toxic Town charts the tragic story of the Corby poisonings where, following the closure of one of the largest steelworks In Europe, toxic spillages from the transporting of waste through populated areas via open lorries led to an increase in upper limb defects in babies born in the surrounding area.
Sacrificing its billboards is a bold move and cleverly sends a strong message inherently linked to the drama’s storyline.
A Netflix tweet promoting the billboards sums up the campaign and the drama perfectly for me. “Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
The emotional stain of bullying
Spotted (pun intended) this powerful campaign from Vanish in Brazil. The popular stain remover has created an emotional short film that explores the profound consequences of bullying and the importance of open conversations between parents and children.
The film, entitled “The Bully Monster”, centres on a boy who experiences bullying at school but keeps silent about his suffering. When his mum notices stains on his uniform, it becomes the starting point for a revealing conversation, and the stains begin to fade. It’s a story that emotively depicts the invisible emotional scars that can grow in the absence of dialogue, turning isolation into sadness and insecurity.
The campaign is born out of the cleaning brand’s annual Vanish Saves Your Uniform campaign. By broadening the debate, they have cleverly turned the conversation to the ‘real stain that can impact a child’s life’. It follows studies that showed that stains on a school uniform can be indicative of bullying.
The “Bully Monster” serves as a reminder of how impactful great storytelling can be. The short film will screen as preshow material in movie theatres and will also be available on streaming platforms and digital channels. It will be accompanied by an e-book and other resources for schools.
See what she sees
This Saturday (8th March) is International Women’s Day and the next campaign is a stark reminder of the everyday safety concerns women face versus men.
Inspired by a viral moment on The Graham Norton Show when actors Saoirse Ronan/Paul Mescal highlighted the different ways men and women handle everyday situations. The ‘See What She Sees’ campaign has been created to engage men in the conversation around women’s safety.
Building on a national poll, which revealed roughly six in ten men believe safety concerns are sometimes exaggerated, the campaign aims to highlight the daily calculations women make to feel safe, often unnoticed by men.
The campaign uses a series of eye-opening juxtapositions of everyday occurrences women face versus men, such as Mind the Gap : Mind the Rub situated on tube platforms and Groovin : Groping set around a mirror ball.
Dan Guinness, managing director of Beyond Equality, the positive masculinities charity behind the campaign, said: “The idea is simple: when it comes to physical safety, men and women often experience the same situations in completely different ways. Women know this instinctively - but many men, even the so-called ‘good guys,’ remain unaware.
“What’s often missing is men fully understanding the extent of these experiences and knowing how they can be part of the solution. This campaign invites them into the conversation and aims to inspire action.”
The campaign, which rolled out this week across digital OOH, print and online across the UK has been supported by 15 different media owners.
My two now grown-up daughters often recounted their own everyday experiences to me across the years, and the wordsmithing in this campaign is something that all men should heed.
Well, that’s it for another week!
As ever, if you’re launching something that deserves a spot in Creative Corner, or have seen a campaign you just love, please do share it with us. Email paul.lucas@fanclubpr.com
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