British Red Cross: It starts with her
In January 2020, we launched our campaign alongside UK Aid Match: It starts with her. The project was all about empowering women to play leading roles in their communities in Barishal, Bangladesh, and supporting people there to stand strong to face the future. Across press ads, out-of-home advertising, social media, retail screens, our website, mailings and emails, we told the stories of the incredible women of Barishal, highlighting the challenges they faced (climate-related disasters, violence, stigma, disease) and how they were overcoming them. Campaign messaging and core script written and developed by me.
Campaign manifesto:
Threading, weaving and strengthening
It starts with one thread. This thread has been spun round, and round, and round. But as it weaves together with other threads, something beautiful happens. A fabric comes together. A fabric that gets stronger with every single thread; tightly woven, tightly bound. You can pull it, twist it, scrunch it up and flatten it out again. It remains the same: strong.
This is happening for women in Barishal, Bangladesh, right now.
It starts with her. She’s been through every rock bottom you can think of – homelessness, violence, living in poverty with three children to feed. But as she stands up and comes together with other women like her, something beautiful happens. A group forms. A group of women that gets stronger with every bit of training and education they receive. You can doubt them, challenge them, underestimate the things they can achieve together. But they remain the same: strong.