John Lewis tasks young creatives with diversifying ‘Made in the UK’ campaign
The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) is working with four young creatives on a campaign that will diversify the ‘Made in the UK’ slogan.
The brief took on the theme of ‘Made in the UK’ / Image via Create Not Hate
It has partnered with Create Not Hate for the initiative, which aims to help young people get their start in the industry. 100 young people, found through community outreach done by Create Not Hate and from within the JLP partnership, participated in a series of workshops to come up with creative ideas for John Lewis and Waitrose’s Create Not Hate brief ‘Made in the UK.’
Their brief was to explore the ways in which the meaning of ‘British’ has evolved over the years to come up with a campaign that reflects the diversity and multiculturalism of the UK today.
They then developed the work as part of a real-life creative process, learning about how the industry works.
Four creatives were selected at the end of the process for paid placements at the John Lewis Partnership HQ, where they’ll work within John Lewis and Waitrose creative and design teams.
All four are also working alongside other workshop participants invited to stay involved in the process to turn the winning ‘Made in the UK’ ideas into actual multimedia campaigns for JLP, which will launch later this year. All program participants are also offered further mentorship and funneled work opportunities through JLP and Create Not Hate.
Ashleigh Vinall, head of content and design for Waitrose, said: “Our goal as a business is to be as inclusive as possible – reflecting the rich diversity of our customers and communities. This is perfectly communicated through the ‘Made In the UK’ brief, which delivers something powerful and authentic to celebrate, and inspires and helps provide a deeper and more contemporary understanding of what it means to be British.
“By partnering with Create Not Hate, the John Lewis Partnership hopes to create an opportunity for young people to learn more about the creative industry and the possibilities open to them by breaking down the barriers preventing them from considering it as a career choice.”
Mentors from different parts of the partnership, as well as from agency Quiet Storm – whose founder Trevor Robinson OBE rebooted its Create Not Hate initiative following the murder of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 – are supporting the young participants in developing their campaigns.
The four chosen candidates are Rosie Burns, 24, who works at Waitrose on the fresh food counters; Ellie Callaghan, 23, who works at Waitrose Stratford City branch as a delivery and floor assistant; Zaina Marius, 19, a school-run care worker for children with special educational needs; and Imaan Mian, a student at Burntwood School, Wandsworth.
Matt Richmond, director of creative and content at John Lewis, added: “We have a shared belief in the transformative power of ideas and creativity – that they can be forces for good and real change in the world. And we also believe that bringing together talented people with different backgrounds and perspectives enriches the creative process and ultimately leads to better, more powerful ideas.
“This program opens up opportunities to people who may never have thought they could work in the John Lewis Partnership creative departments, or may not have even considered a career in the creative industries.”