The Mayor of London’s office is following up last year’s “Have a word” DMA-award winning campaign, designed to tackle sexist attitudes and inappropriate male behaviour towards women and girls, with a new execution designed to challenge misogyny among the same demographic.
Once again devised by Ogilvy, the “Say Maaate to a Mate” interactive film gives viewers the option to intervene when a group of young men’s conversation becomes increasingly misogynistic.
By clicking “Maaate”, the film adopts a “choose-your-own-ending” game and acts as a tool for men and boys to help determine when, where and how to call out inappropriate language.
Ogilvy executive creative directors Nicola Wood and Andy Forrest said: “We hate to call it a film because it’s more than that. It’s a tool for change. A practice run. A game if you will, that demonstrates the power of one word to stop low level misogyny in its tracks.
“The craft is mind blowing. Filmed by Koby Adom from RSA, we worked with Vimeo to create an experience that contains around 270 branches of content sitting under one seamless narrative, repurposing the skip button for an immersive experience.”
The campaign is based on the results of an in-depth behavioural science study – conducted by Ogilvy Consulting – which revealed the prevalence of misogyny in society and a lack of awareness about how to tackle it.
The campaign will be supported through a LadBible partnership, influencer marketing and a paid social campaign.
In addition, well-known individuals have created content to raise awareness of the campaign, including social media activist Max Selwood and comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who promoted the campaign with a comedy set that has attracted over 2.5 million views online.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “This new campaign recognises that male violence against women and girls often starts with words. That’s why I’m determined to ensure that men and boys feel empowered to call out their mates when their behaviour crosses the line.
“It is only by ensuring that women and girls are both protected and respected that we can continue to build a better, safer London for everyone.”
Ogilvy’s “Have a word” campaign scooped last year’s DMA grand prix – its first for a decade despite dominating the shortlist for years – as well as six golds on a night dominated by the WPP-owned agency.
It featured a group of young men at a corner shop, joking, messing around and bantering with each other. As they stepped out, one spotted a girl, sitting alone on a bench and waiting for her taxi and started harassing her in what he claimed was just a joke. However, as his friends watched the way in which he spoke to the girl, one of them internalised and remembered, “Have a word with yourself, then your mates.” He then stopped his friend and let the girl get away.
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