Don’t ignore it
Don’t Ignore It
This awareness raising campaign used advertisements as a metaphor for the way in which society continues to hide, excuse and ignore domestic violence.
There were three initial phases to the campaign:
- A cinema advert campaign launched in September 2003. A short film depicted a woman experiencing extreme abuse whilst dining in a restaurant with her partner and a group of friends. The friends remain oblivious as the violence escalates. To see the advert click on the link below.
- A national poster campaign running from early January through to end March 2004. Three different posters featured domestic violence scenes taking place in public places, each time with the friends of the couples remaining oblivious.
- A third poster phase focusing on the captive London Underground audience launched in August 2004.
Dont Ignore It campaign cinema advert
The central message
Domestic violence is unacceptable and everyone has a part to play in either perpetuating or preventing it.
Did you know that more than one in three (42 per cent)* people say they’ve witnessed a person being verbally or physically abused by their partner in a social situation – whether at home, a restaurant or the pub? So the Don’t Ignore It message is clear as ever – domestic violence is unacceptable and everyone has a part to play in preventing the problem.
Sandra Horley Refuge Chief Executive stated: “Domestic violence continues to kill two women a week in England and Wales. The Refuge Don’t Ignore It campaign has really raised awareness of the fact that domestic violence is a crime that must not be ignored. The two previous campaign phases, the national cinema and national poster campaign, saw a rise of 49% of calls to the helpline and twice as many hits to the web site. But we need to keep reinforcing the message and the London Underground is the ideal medium to urge people to acknowledge the issue and seek help – it might just save a life."
Stephen Whyte, Chief Executive of McCann Erickson said: “One of the key challenges in relation to domestic violence is overcoming the perspective that ‘domestic’ means ‘private’. This campaign seeks to demonstrate just how absurd that way of thinking is and to encourage people to take action if they suspect someone is a victim of this crime."
McCann Erickson London created the adverts as part of their ’1000 voices, 100 years’ social responsibility campaign, an initiative which marked the centenary year of McCanns through local offices around the world developing pro-bono advertising for issues they deemed important yet unacknowledged.
* The Body Shop September 2003
Refuge would like to give particular thanks to Tamara Ingram, ex chief executive of McCann Erickson, for her continued support of Refuge.
