"Spotlight of the Week", formerly "Campaigns of the Week", is a weekly published series which highlights the important work in PR, Comms, Marketing and Advertising. The work that makes you think "Pssttt I wish I had come up with this idea". The work that lingers on your mind. The work that matters.
BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BILLBOARDS by Mircosoft, McCann and MRM UK
Credit: Mircosoft
The first-ever national digital billboard campaign to feature British Sign Language (BSL) has been launched across the UK by Microsoft to highlight the importance of accessibility in driving innovation.
The campaign has been launched at major railway stations, including Reading, Brighton, Waterloo, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley.
Each digital billboard will show 10-second films featuring a female BSL interpreter who is signing the words next to her. The message reads: “The more inclusive you are, the more innovative you can be. Together we can create a better and more accessible world for everyone.”
The campaign has been launched as part of Microsoft’s five-year commitment to inclusivity and accessibility and showcases the role technology can play in improving access to digital content for under-served communities, including the 151,000 individuals who use BSL in the UK. The digital billboard campaign is launched alongside Microsoft’s new accessibility website that contains resources for companies to help them become more inclusive.
It includes information on inclusive hiring practices, digital skills, growing a diverse culture, create accessible solutions, accessibility tools, case studies and tips and tricks.
VEGAMAMA by wagamama and Uncommon
Credit: CreativeReview, CreativeBoom
To celebrate wagamama becoming the UK’s first high street restaurant to make 50% of its menu plant-based, Uncommon has launched a new campaign featuring a colossal rubber dinosaur who’s hungry for vengeance, angry at the state of our world.
The new film marks Uncommon’s first for Wagamama since its appointment earlier this year. Directed by RiffRaff’s Vedran Rupic and inspired by the Japanese anime genre ‘Kaiju’ meaning ‘strange beast’, it centres around an unlikely protagonist called Vegamama who’s on a mission to right our wrongs and help heal our planet.
The spot was directed by Vedran Rupic and the campaign will run on TV, cinema, online and social and will be supported by OOH executions later in the year. It’s part of a wider push to encourage us to ‘Eat The World You Want to See’ whether that’s finding a new go-to vegan side or choosing to eat meat-free for half the week. Ahead of the United Nation’s COP26 climate conference on 1 November, Wagamama is also rewarding customers who pledge a small choice for big change by signing up to its Plant Pledge.
LET LIFE HAPPPEN by John Lewis Home Insurance and adam&eve DDB
Credit: Campaignlive
John Lewis is launching an ad campaign by Adam & Eve/DDB to raise awareness of its new home insurance product.
In addition to TV, the integrated campaign will feature on YouTube, streaming services and social media channels, as well as on digital screens outside Waitrose stores.
The heart of the campaign is a 60-second TV ad directed by Tom Kuntz through MJZ in which a young boy causes accidental damage in his family’s home.
However, the new advert faces transphobic backlash over a young boy wearing a dress and also was accused of “male entitlement” and “sexism”. One shopper said: “The John Lewis advert of a young boy being the centre of attention for trashing everything while his sister obediently sits and paints in a corner is sexism encapsulated in sixty seconds.”
The ad has garnered a lot of criticism online, where some people claimed the ‘woke’ video is a form of ‘virtue signalling’.
John Lewis has defended its latest insurance advert against accusations of “agenda-pushing”, following backlash on social media.
And I’ll leave this here.
DON’T BE THAT GUY by Police Scotland
Police Scotland launches a new campaign to tackle male sexual entitlement.
A video for campaign Don’t Be That Guy was shared across social media on Wednesday and addresses misogyny and sexism as a gateway to sexual violence.
The video, which has already been viewed over 2.2M times, stars several men asking various questions.
Campaigners welcomed the framing, especially in the wake of responses to the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer that appeared to emphasise the need for female victims to protect themselves.
