Ad of the Day: Stamma calls for end to zero visibility of stammering
Stamma, the British Stammering Association, and VMLY&R London have teamed up to launch a petition and supporting film that calls for people who stammer to be visibly and authentically portrayed in the media.
’Not Just One Day’ is a humorous spot that follows the inner monologue of someone who doesn’t see any benefits of signing online petitions, with the one exception being the new one from Stamma, which provides a focused and actionable change.
“How is signing my name on a petition going to change anything?” the narrator dryly questions. “It won’t stop billionaires flying giant metal penises into space. It won’t stop overfishing. Or the conspiracy theory that Prince Harry is a lizard.”
The impactful work was created by brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R London alongside film collective Acid News, and the ad is voiced by Paul Roberts, a long-standing member of Stamma, who has never been contracted for voiceover work before.
“It is time to end the zero visibility of stammering. Until we hear and see people who stammer in the media, people will continue to respond inappropriately when they hear someone stammer. This is a legacy we can’t leave our children,“ said Jane Powell, chief executive officer at Stamma
Today marks International Stammering Awareness Day and the petition, which has launched on change.org, is aimed at eleven major media agencies and calls upon them to ensure that people who stammer are represented across all channels.
“I can’t remember the last time I heard someone stammer in popular culture without it being their defining trait. So when Stamma called I got excited,” added Daniel Liakh, creative at VMLY&R London.
“Then, as a man in his mid-twenties, I thought about how much I hate petitions. So we made a film about the overpromise of most petitions... And how the humble and simple ask from Stamma’s digital piece of paper will actually make a big difference.”
Being inclusive and starting a positive dialogue around stammering is imperative for Stamma, and to further the campaign the association has released a number of interviews asking people if they have recently been aware of someone with a stammer in the media, and if so, questioning whether it was the focus of the conversation.
