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Inside the campaign that leverages male behavioural psychology to combat violence against women

Research suggests that men don’t identify with the perpetrator of violence against women when they see them on screen. This is because people rarely see themselves as ‘the bad guy’. The team at Ogilvy channelled this insight into a campaign that tackles violence against women by addressing the perpetrator’s friends instead. Director Molly Burdett explains how the Have A Word film for the Mayor of London puts the onus on men, challenging them to stop being a bystander and take action when they see sexist behaviour and harassment by their peers.

The video campaign got Londoners talking and thinking, winning the D&AD White Pencil for Impact as well as a Graphite Pencil for Direction. Burdett explains that the body language of the actors was accentuated by camera angles showing the proximity between the group so the viewer feels the woman’s fear. The mirror scene of the bystander friend talking to himself acts as an effective visual device for showing his inner conflict. The concise idea communicated is that bystanders need to listen to their inner voice when they see harassment happening and to step in and help.

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How people of Native American heritage rewrote Pocahontas to tell the real story

According to Amnesty International, sexual stereotypes continue to be a major factor in violent attacks towards Indigenous women and girls. They are 16 times more likely to be murdered than any other group, and four out of five will experience violence in their lifetime. To fight the stereotype, scriptwriter Lauren DeLeary teamed up with BBDO Canada led by CCO Max Geraldo to create a full-length alternative audio track to Disney's Pocahontas, synced with every syllable on screen. Missing Matoaka collected five D&AD Pencils including a Yellow Pencil in the Radio & Audio and Entertainment categories.

DeLeary explains the emotional toll of the work is something that creatives starting on this type of work should be prepared for. To tell the story as it really happened, DeLeary needed to put part of herself in the writing – a potentially overwhelming experience for any writer. Matoaka’s story had to be authentically told, so once the script was ready, it was voiced by indigenous cast, some of whom had not used their voices to tell a story like this before.