Title	WHO IS NORMAL?
Brand	KOMM! (SWEDISH ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNICATION AGENCIES)
Product/Service	DIVERSITY AWARENESS IN ADVERTISING
Category	A06. Events & Experiential (incl. stunts)
Entrant Company	VOLONTAIRE Stockholm, SWEDEN
Advertising Agency	VOLONTAIRE Stockholm, SWEDEN

Name	Company	Position
Jessica Bjurström	Komm!	Ceo
Jenny Hagblom	Volontaire	Account Director
Patrick Kampmann	Volontaire	Senior Planner
Joakim Runeson	Volontaire	Account Planner
Sanna Tidbeck	Volontaire	Producer
Philip Cristofor	Volontaire	Digital Producer
Rasmus Nilsson	Volontaire	Creative Director
Elisabeth Fischer	Volontaire	Copywriter
Lucas Lima	Volontaire	Art Director
Kalle Mattsson	Volontaire	Designer
Joakim Ohlsson	Volontaire	Pr Consultant
Viktor Bolin	Volontaire	Pr Strategist
David Orlic	Volontaire	Strategic Advisor
Emilia Jimenez Bergmark	Söderberg Agentur	Photographer
Oivvio Polite	Freelance	Webb Production

The Campaign

Every day, advertising tells us what is normal. What a normal body looks like, what a normal sexuality is and what persons a normal family consists of. But what does it mean when almost every person depicted is young, thin and able-bodied? And who is responsible? Yes, advertising can shape norms. But advertising can also break norms. The Swedish Association of Communication Agencies – Komm! – wanted to prove that advertising can be a force for good and raised an important question by asking a simple one: ”What is normal in Swedish advertising?” A study of 1 364 persons depicted in randomly selected ads proved what norms are being represented today. 94% of the women were slim. 0,0015% of all people had a visible disability. 100% of the families were portrayed as heterosexual. Subsequently, we transformed the advertising space at Stockholm’s busiest metro station into a photo exhibition challenging what and who is ”normal”. Portraits of real people were mounted on top of real advertising photos, while a live exhibition catalogue on Instagram linked every photograph to results from the study. The exhibition rendered huge media coverage and sparked a nation wide debate on representation that is still ongoing. Sweden’s Minister for Gender Equality supported the initiative. In the wake of the exhibition several well-known brands have followed suit.

The Brief

1.) Prove that Komm! wants to take responsibility for the trust crisis through inspiring the industry to change. 2.) Inspire one (1) national ad campaign to be inclusive in line with the messaging. 3.) Achieve ROI x 3 4.) Reach 1 million people in traditional media. 5.) Reach 100 000 impressions in social media. 6.) Achieve 3 pieces of coverage in national media.

Execution

To reach outside the advertising industry we invited members of NGO’s to be part of the campaign and took over a public space usually filled with stereotypical advertising messages, Stockholm’s busiest metro station. The public space was transformed into a photographic exhibition with portraits featuring people of under-represented groups. All mounted on top of traditional and cliché-heavy advertising photos. The exhibition was also accessible through Instagram and linked every photograph to statistics from the research study, showing the public that Komm! understands both the problem and the solution. The exhibition was hosted by Jessica Bjurström, the Chairwoman of Komm, and supported and visited by the Swedish Minister of Gender Equality. It attracted thousands of Swedes, covered by every major news media in the country. This sparked a nationwide debate among the country’s leading political and cultural columnists as well as the advertising industry. The debate went on for weeks.

“Who is normal in advertising?” dominated Swedish media for weeks, resulting in a national debate about the responsibility of the industry that still goes on. Following “Who is normal in advertising?”, at least three different campaigns for major brands were launched using norm-breaking models. The total reach of the campaign so far is 30 million people through 50 different pieces of coverage. In social media, regular people participated in what could have been an industry-exclusive discussion, resulting in over 1,7 million impressions in social media. In total, the campaign’s ROI came in at 36,6 times the initial investment.

The Strategy

The advertising industry is plagued with an increasing lack of trust from the public and politicians alike. We wanted to distance Komm! from individual opinions by using facts. To achieve this, a study that analyzed 1.364 randomly selected persons depicted in in advertising was conducted. The results were as clear as depressing: people that in any way differ from the norm are grossly under-represented. The only way Komm!, the representative for this very distrusted industry, could ever regain its trust would be to admit just how bad things are. And then present a solution. This insight and solution was then presented to the public, rather than only the ad business, admitting guilt and showing an initiative directly to the people most affected, i.e. the people.