Create Not Hate–a diversity advocacy group founded by Trevor Robinson OBE, creative director at London ad agency/production company Quiet Storm–has joined forces with British retailer John Lewis to run a program targeted at young people who are underrepresented in the creative industry. The aim is to give these young people new opportunities and spread awareness of the industry and job roles within it.
The John Lewis Partnership is funding the new program, and the retailer–famous for its creative and genre-defining Christmas ads for John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets–will also be offering a number of paid placements for the best performing participants once the program has ended, to develop their skills even further.
The brief for the Create Not Hate program is to create a campaign that reframes the meaning of “made in the U.K.” so that it truly reflects the diversity and ethnicity of U.K. culture today. The work is expected to be unveiled in early 2022 and will be shared with the public by the John Lewis Partnership and Create Not Hate.
Teams from the Partnership and Create Not Hate will work with diverse groups of young people, using their ideas and creativity to break old preconceptions and norms in order to demonstrate a fresh take on what it truly means to live in multicultural Britain today. The campaign will celebrate, inspire and promote a deeper understanding of all communities around the U.K.
Mentors from different parts of the Partnership, as well as from agency Quiet Storm will help the young participants to develop their campaigns. Robinson and his partner at Quiet Storm, CEO Rania Robinson, had rebooted his Create Not Hate initiative following the murder of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives matter movement last year.
Robinson said, “We have an opportunity to create unique and exciting work with fresh-thinking young talent, and I’m thrilled that Create Not Hate are a part of that. I can’t wait to see how the synergy between us develops into what I know will be outstanding creative work. Thank you to Claire Pointon at John Lewis & Partners for seeing Create Not Hate’s ‘Check Your Prejudice’ campaign last year, and reaching out with inspiring energy and enthusiasm.”
In a joint statement, Pointon, customer director at John Lewis, and Martin George, customer director at Waitrose, shared, “We are committed to ensuring that our brands are inclusive and appeal to a diverse customer base that reflects modern Britain. It’s important that we are an inclusive employer that celebrates diversity, so our collaboration with Create Not Hate is an exciting step in the right direction.”
Ash Vinall, head of content & design at Waitrose, said, “Innovation and creativity are at the heart of our brand, so drawing on and supporting young up and coming talent from all parts of our society is essential for our future growth.”
Matt Richmond, director of content & design, John Lewis, said, “We are excited to find and foster undiscovered creative talent that is waiting to be found within our business and the wider community and I can’t wait to see what we discover.”
Youth outreach to recruit for the new program will be activated by Create Not Hate, and the John Lewis Partnership will also open up the opportunity to its young partners.
