Social intolerance campaign for SOPHIE to launch in November
An ‘emotional’ advertising and communications campaign has launched in an effort to support the fight against intolerance in society.
The campaign was won by Leeds based agency, Propaganda without pitch and will see the agency work in conjunction with Lancaster’s mother Sylvia.
It is scheduled to launch in November as a UK-wide press and outdoor advertising campaign. The campaign is inspired by Sophie's love of life, her freedom of expression, her desire to be individual, and the positive way in which she embraced who she was.
On Saturday, 11 August 2007, Sophie and her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, were returning to their new home, walking through Stubbylee Park in Bacup, Lancashire. A gang of youths, aged between 15 and 17 savagely attacked Robert without provocation; when he was beaten unconscious they turned on Sophie who was cradling her boyfriend, trying to protect him.
Laughing and egging each other on they kicked, punched and jumped repeatedly up and down on Sophie's head; both attacks were of such severity that the police could not tell which was male or female. The leading police officer described it as ‘one of the most violent murders he has come across in his lengthy career'.
Robert was in a coma with bleeding on his brain, but gradually recovered over the following two weeks. Sophie did not wake up, and despite thirteen days of hopes and prayers, Sylvia finally had to switch off her daughter's life support machine. The judge described the murder of Sophie and the attack on Robert as a ‘hate crime' and ‘degrading humanity'. The five violent offenders received sentences ranging from four years to life.
On seeing the initial creative work for the campaign, Sylvia Lancaster commented; "I was so nervous before the meeting, but when I saw the work, it perfectly communicated the core message of the Foundation, and how I want Sophie to be remembered. For me it was really important to balance Sophie's character as a sensitive, intelligent and caring girl, proud of who she was as well as conveying the horrendous and senseless circumstances of her murder. We have to hope that through the Foundation we can change people's feelings and misunderstanding of alternative subcultures and drive out the feelings of hatred that seem to plague our society. It would certainly be a fitting and lasting legacy for Sophie who had so much she wanted to achieve, and so much to give to the world; an opportunity that in life was pointlessly taken away from her."
Julian Kynaston, chairman of Propaganda, commented; "This has simply been the hardest job we have had to do and it is impossible not to get caught up in the emotion. We could have easily used disturbing images of Sophie in hospital that have been in the media to generate the shock factor, but Sylvia was rightfully adamant that the campaign should be positive and peaceful. Just seeing Sophie's beautiful face both conveys the way that she lived her life and the shocking reality of what has been taken away. I am delighted that Sylvia has given us the opportunity to help work with the Foundation, which continues to generate so much support and empathy on a worldwide basis. For us this is the beginning, and our determination to succeed has never been stronger."