Category: Best Use of Special Events and Stunt/Live Advertising
Advertiser: SABC
Product/Service: DEAF AWARENESS
Agency: DRAFTFCB SOUTH AFRICA
Chief Creative Officer: Brett Morris (Draftfcb)
Executive Creative Director: Neo Mashigo (Draftfcb)
Copywriter: Melusi Mhlungu (Draftfcb)
Art Director: Bradley Stapleton (Draftfcb)
Account Supervisor: Thato Mofokeng (Draftfcb)
Media placement: TV - SABC News - September 2011
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
People with disabilities in Africa have always been marginalised and under-represented. And so for deaf awareness month we were briefed by the SABC (South-African Broadcasting Corporation) to find a creative way to address this issue. Because the SABC has a special deaf news bulletin that puts the sign language interpreter in a small box at the bottom of the screen, we thought this would be the perfect media space to deliver our message. Our creative idea came from a simple insight that if deaf people rely on sign language to communicate, then why is the sign language interpreter on the news not given more prominence?
Creative Execution
We needed to find a radical and disruptive idea that would capture the audience. And so for the first time ever on national television we flipped the roles of the news reporter and the sign language interpreter, creating a friendlier and more accessible news broadcast for all deaf people across the country. Because it makes sense for deaf people to be able to see clearer what’s being said. For the first time deaf people felt like they had been given a voice on the news.
Results and Effectiveness
As a result:
More and more people became aware of the deaf awareness month and this was by far the most successful project that the SABC has ever done around this issue. It was so greatly received by all those who watched that SABC is even thinking about doing the same thing again this year but now across all their news channels.