New campaign focusing on men's behaviour at live music events.
Wunderman Thompson supports White Ribbon UK with a festival and gig campaign to make men accountable for violence against women.
The latest pro-bono work from Wunderman Thompson supports White Ribbon UK with a new, creative campaign focusing on women’s safety when they attend live music events. The aim is to raise awareness amongst men and encourage them to individually and collectively take responsibility to end men’s violence toward women and make festivals, and society as a whole, a safer place.
Statistics show that two in five women have experienced sexual harassment at gigs and festivals. All too often the onus has been put on women to keep themselves safe. This campaign from Wunderman Thompson powerfully subverts the tropes of festival and gig posters and aims to highlight that men need to change their behaviour so that festivals and gigs become safer spaces for women.
What appears to be a typical festival or gig poster actually reveals the issue of violence against women and calls out how men can be a key part of the solution by owning problematic behaviour and calling out sexism, abuse or assault if they see it.
Clever festival names or gig titles have been created to capture attention and flag the issues such as, ‘Assault on the Dancefloor’, ‘Blind Eye Weekender’ and ‘Summertime Silence’, whilst familiar ‘headline acts’ have been replaced with copy that reflects unacceptable behaviour such as groping, harassment and cat calling.
The point being that these made-up live events are not ones that women should have to experience and by encouraging men to make the White Ribbon Promise we can begin to prevent male violence against women at live events.
To spread the message Wunderman Thompson and White Ribbon UK have partnered with The O2, as the world’s most popular music, entertainment and leisure venue, to run the campaign through digital OOH, The O2’s social channels and CRM data base.
The renowned nightclub, Fabric, will also be carrying the campaign message within their club, their social channels and promotional materials. The campaign will also appear in a nationwide campaign running across JCDecaux sites.
Anthea Sully, Chief Executive, White Ribbon UK says,
Ultimately violence against women will only end if men take responsibility for their own behaviour and are also prepared to call out harassing and abusive behaviour when they see it. Venues and festivals being absolutely clear about the culture they want to see can make a significant difference. That is why we are pleased that the O2 Arena and Fabric are supporting us to get the message across. Women must be able to have a great time when they go to clubs, venues and festivals without fear of harassment or violence. We expect all men to make the White Ribbon Promise to never use, excuse or remain silence about male violence against women.
Jo Wallace, Creative Director at Wunderman Thompson says,
With restrictions lifted, we should all be looking forward to going out and having fun, but the fact of the matter is that women and girls can be targets and attend events knowing that there is a very real possibility they will experience sexual harassment. With this campaign we aim to clarify that the responsibility to change this situation and behaviour sits with men. Through our partnership with White Ribbon UK we hope more men will make the White Ribbon Promise and end male violence against women for good.
Danielle Kennedy-Clarke, Deputy General Manager at The O2 says,
As the world’s most popular music, entertainment and leisure venue, the safety of our visitors is of paramount importance to us. Whether someone is visiting The O2 to shop, dine or attend a show in the arena, we need to ensure that they can do so safely, and without fear. With the world class acts we have performing at The O2, we want our visitors to leave with memories that will last a lifetime, and so we’re proud to support and collaborate with White Ribbon to continue the important work of making our venues a safer space for women.