White Ribbon invites men to ‘step up’ via Innocean Australia
Innocean Australia has launched the annual White Ribbon Day campaign for 2023, highlighting men’s role in the movement to end violence against women.
The creative agency was appointed to handle White Ribbon Australia’s brand strategy and communications in February, after first commencing work on the organisation’s brand architecture in 2022.
White Ribbon Australia was acquired by Western Australian support service Communicare in 2019, soon after going into voluntary liquidation.
The latest campaign, “There’s No Good Reason,” aims to engage men in the domestic violence conversation, following nationally representative research from Innocean that revealed men are reluctant to take action.
While 86% of men acknowledged that they play a critical role in the prevention of violence against women, only 6% have actively helped (via monetary donations, volunteering time, educating themselves or others).
The lack of engagement was attributed a degree of confusion about what men’s roles could and should be, with the new campaign catered to the “movable middle” Australian male.
White Ribbon hopes to cut through to this group by juxtaposing real news articles about violence against women with the reasons men give for not leaning in or intervening to help stop violence against women.
Key to the campaign is a special edition news paper called The Daily Issue, which will be distributed nationally, with 2000 copies sent to politicians, journalists, influencers, publications and men’s groups. The 500 articles printed on its pages represent only 1% of the 48,000 stories published in Australia about violence against women in 2023 alone, demonstrating the scale of the problem.
Commenting on the campaign, CEO of Communicare, Melissa Perry, said: “As the custodian of White Ribbon Australia, Communicare’s 30-year experience in the sector has shown that we cannot address this chronic social problem if we don’t drive change for victim-survivors, those with lived experience and for men who use violence. Men have a significant influence in their communities and can be powerful advocates for change.
“With this campaign we urge all Australians, particularly men, to educate themselves about the realities of domestic violence, challenge harmful attitudes and beliefs when they see them, and speak out against violence in all its forms.
“In particular, we need men to actively participate in creating a society where women can live free from violence, with support from all levels of government to make this ambition a reality.”
Innocean CEO, Jasmin Bedir, added: “White Ribbon Australia exists because of the more than 2.2 million* acts of sexual violence that have been inflicted on women in Australia. Our proprietary White Ribbon Australia 2023 research study^ indicated that while 86% of men recognise the severity of the issue, only 6% actively engage, often citing a lack of tools and understanding as barriers. When asked why this is the case, many men believe ‘It’s not my problem’ or ‘It doesn’t affect people I know,’ which is unfortunately not true.
“But the thing is, there’s no good reason for men not getting involved in the cause against men’s violence against women. Our ‘There’s No Good Reason’ campaign is inviting men to step up and do more.”
Wesley Hawes, Innocean Australia executive creative director, said: “A newspaper’s worth of violence might be the reality check Australian men need. It’s a confronting piece that we all found personally difficult to work on and assemble. The use of the real reasons men give for ignoring the issue seem so insignificant in comparison to the tragic and often harrowing stories depicted in the articles themselves.”
The campaign launches nationally ahead of White Ribbon Day on 17 November.
Credits
White Ribbon
CEO Communicare: Melissa Perry
Senior Consultant: Corporate Partnerships: Yasemin Cowley-Cooper
Assistant Director: Jayson Tarawhiti
Manager – Men’s Engagement: Clayton Shaw
Innocean Australia
CEO: Jasmin Bedir
ECD: Wez Hawes
Creative Director: David Varney
Art Director: Lachlan Rotherham
Copywriter: Georgie Parchert
Design Lead: Michael Macgregor
Chief Strategy Officer: Gual Barwell
Strategist: Eliza Millett
Junior Strategist: Jake Mesidis
Client Partner: Connor Walsh
Business Director: Carly Pelham
Account Director: Jamie Astley
Senior Account Director: Belinda Hall
Account Manager: Ruth Murphy
Senior Account Manager: Ali Jeffrey
Head of Production: Renata Barbosa
Producer: Jo Linden
Producer: Georgie Patching
Editor: Dave Anlezark
Media advisor: Wendy Gower
Production Company: Oakville Films
Director: Lachlan Rotherham
Producer: Zhiran Zhou
Cinematographer: Datu Bethke
Camera Assistant: Clarence Thein
Gaffer: Matthew Roper
Production Designer: Marcella Tattersall
Digital Production: Rockit Digital
Head of Client Services: Brian Wu
Account Manager: Millicent Yeung
Print Production: Special T Print
Publishers/Media:
The Media Shop
Bishopp
JCDecaux
QMS
Total Outdoor Media
Ooh! Media
LUMOS
Torch Media
Go Transit
Rock Posters
Val Morgan Outdoor
Mobile Marketing Australia
NOVA
Southern Cross Austereo
ARN Media
SBS
Network 10
Seven Network
Rumble
Sound Designer: Daniel William
Producer: Siena Mascheretti
Voice Artists and agents
Colin Cassidy (EM Voices)
Lieschen Pogue (RMK)
Stephen Briggs (RMK)
Claire Lovering (RMK)
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