Challenge

1.6 million women are living with domestic abuse where during big sporting events, domestic abuse rises by up to 38%.

The numbers are shocking. And last year, with the first winter World Cup on the horizon, data showed that people wouldn’t be spending post-match in beer gardens and viewing parks but instead returning home, leaving those 1.6 million women at greater risk. We needed to get people talking about the issue and drive people to the Women’s Aid website to find out how they could help.

Solution

We executed a culturally infectious campaign, that infiltrated consumer minds through celebrities, meme pages, and tik-tokers. The campaign sparked conversation on WhatsApp, down the pub and around the dinner table. 

We tactically launched on 25th Nov, just after the second group game for England, so in that moment, as people made their way home, they got our timely message. 

For a tiny charity with no budget, we achieved the impossible. We cut through all the noise, all the multimillion-pound brand campaigns, even the Black Friday frenzy, and went viral.

Those three words spoke to the public. And the public spoke back – “Felt a shiver go through me”, “Throughout the game this was on my mind”, and “Knowledge can save lives”. It was watched 23 million times on Tik Tok alone. It was shared by celebrities but also, by meme accounts, tik tok-ers and people who wouldn’t usually share adverts. It infiltrated culture via whatsapp groups, around the dinner table and down the pub.