Former England international football players turned pundits, Jill Scott MBE and Gary Neville, tasted life in a different dugout as part of a Heineken® social experiment entitled, “The Social Swap” aimed at addressing gender bias when it comes to women sharing their opinions about football on social media.
‘The Social Swap’
Co-created by agencies LePub and Edelman, “The Social Swap” saw Scott and Neville secretly switch social accounts for five days to share their genuine views on matches, from team rivalries to match predictions. The only catch? Scott was posting from Neville’s account, and Neville was using Scott’s account.
The experiment acted as a reminder of football’s journey to become more inclusive, with Scott’s account receiving five times more sexist responses compared to Neville’s when sharing similar points of view and commentary online. Example responses to the pundits’ posts during the swap illustrating gender bias:
This short film directed by Caswell Coggins via production house Prodigious Italy features Scott and Neville discussing the experiment, including some of the sexist reactions from social media users.
Neville said, “The heated debates and rivalries are what makes football so exhilarating. But when negativity is linked to gender, this goes too far, especially from behind a screen. By putting myself in Jill’s shoes and seeing the reaction, I have seen first-hand the uglier side of this sport that I love and want to make it clear that football is for everyone. On the pitch and online, we should treat each other with respect no matter our gender, race, sexuality or what color shirt we’re wearing.”
Bruno Bertelli, Global CEO LePub, Global CCO Publicis Worldwide, CCO Publicis Groupe Italy, said, “I really hope this project will boost visibility towards football’s wrong and stereotypical assumptions. The social swapping between Jill and Gary, demonstrated that we necessitate a more progressive attitude to gender equality. When it comes to football–the world’s most popular sport–we can’t any longer turn a blind eye to these types of behaviors. It must be a welcoming environment for all. With this campaign Heineken has taken a clear stance and a new step towards demonstrating that a mindset change is needed."
CreditsClient Heineken Laura Sevilla German, global data strategy lead. Agency LePub Bruno Bertelli, global CEO, LePub, and global CCO, Publicis Worldwide, and CCO, Publicis Group Italy; Cristiana Boccassini, Mihnea Gheorghiu, chief creative officers; Marie Poumeyrol, Nicholas Bakshi, creative directors; Joao Araujo, art director; Katharina Haller, sr. copywriter; Nithika Romy, jr. art director; Shrutunjay Gupta, jr. copywriter; James Moore, group strategy director; Vittorio Cafiero, head of digital production; Valentina Salaro, head of social & content; Natalia Cortes, Lara Simoniello, social media managers; Francesca Zazzera, chief production officer; Cinzia Morandi, producer. Agency Edelman Stefan Ronge, chief creative officer, EMEA; Martin Jon Adolfsson, creative director; Mike Chivers, earned creative. Production Company Prodigious Italy Caswell Coggins, director; Alessio Zazzera, exec producer; Daniel Trapp, DP. Production Service Ginger Whippet Films, London Pete Waite, line producer. Postproduction Tommaso Bianchi, Stuart Greenwald, editors; Sabrina Sanfratello, post producer; Danilo Vittori, color grading. Online Video Prodigious Music Extreme Music Sound Design Top Digital
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More