‘Easter So White’ Campaign highlights lack of diversity in advertising

The 13th of April saw the launch of an initiative that seeks to draw attention to the under-representation of the BAME community in Advertising and Marketing with particular focus on Easter. #EasterSoWhite is the next evolution of the #SoWhiteProject which first launched with #ChristmasSoWhite in 2016.

Diversity is not just for Christmas and #EasterSOwhite continues to promote diversity at key moments when family and friends gather, capturing a more accurate representation of what real life looks like.

#EasterSOwhite has three developments on #ChristmasSOwhite.

#EasterSoWhite brings attention to different cultural traditions at Easter to stop the cultural white-wash that can often occur. As well as creating imagery of Easter egg hunts and egg painting the imagery also draws attention to other culture’s Easter traditions.The inspiration to include other cultural traditions occurred when Selma, one of the founders, shared Easter Egg hunts are not a typical tradition for her, explaining that she would instead visit family and friends whilst eating Bun & Cheese and fried fish, both Caribbean Easter traditions. Nathalie, Wren and Nadya admitted they had never heard of, let alone tried, Bun & Cheese. The decision was made to share each other’s cultures and then celebrate this within the imagery. Normal for one is not normal for all.Selma, from modeling agency Looks Like Me commented “Looks Like Me brings vibrancy and positive representation of BAME children & families to the EasterSOwhite campaign, sharing with everyone different cultural traditions during the Easter period.”
The So White Project is proud to announce all #EasterSOwhite imagery will be available Royalty Free via Getty Images for everyone to use in their Marketing and Advertising efforts. Getty is the biggest online photography platform in the world – having contributor status with Getty allows The So White Project the opportunity to provide more diverse imagery to creative industries with immediate effect.Nathalie, creative founder commented, “Diversity in imagery is something that can always be improved. We need to stop reinforcing stereotypes and show the world as it truly is rather than just a representation of the confirmation bias bubble we’re all living in.” Wren followed, “We hope this campaign will inspire other businesses and agencies to use more diverse imagery. It’s our responsibility to reflect society”.
Lastly, #EasterSOwhite are proud to also announce a partnership with Exterion and Primesight, leading out of home media owners, to enable the imagery to be featured in locations across the UK. These include Westfield shopping centres, Cinema Foyers, alongside Railway Stations and in local high streets. The imagery will feature the headline Happy Easter from #SoWhiteProject bringing a joyful diverse representation of Easter.Naren Patel, CEO of Primesight says “Seeing our industry gradually waking up to the difference we need to make in the world, we’re proud to be hosting #EasterSOwhite’s message of diversity and inclusion on our billboards. Outdoor Advertising is the awareness building medium, reaching 98% of the UK population every week and we’re pleased that our estate will help to start conversations nationwide on the portrayal of our diverse nation in the media.”

Next step, #SummerSOwhite…

Nadya, one of the co-founders commented “With #EasterSOwhite it was important to build on the diversity message we established at Christmas so including diverse cultural traditions was a really exciting next step. It doesn’t end here and for #SummerSOwhite we are having exciting conversations with diversity organisations to represent the full wonderful diversity of the UK. There is no element of diversity we won’t represent.”

#EasterSOwhite received support from ten businesses within the marketing community: Media.com, Google, Above+Beyond, AnalogFolk, BBH, DigitasLBi, Dentsu Aegis Network, New Look, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sunshine.

Models were provided by modeling agency Looks Like Me and the imagery was shot by renowned photographer, Helen Marsden. The families were styled by Fashion Stylist Yvadney Davis and New Look provided clothing from their childrens and adult ranges. Michael Adeyeye is the videographer for the initiative.

The inspiration for the #SOWhiteProject was a six-year-old girl, Sara, looking for her favourite activities at Christmas online with one of the movements founders, Nadya. The little girl is black and Nadya was only able to find images that did not look like her. Nadya realised this was an everyday experience for the little girl and decided this could not continue.

The #SoWhiteProject was founded by marketing pundit Nadya Powell (The Great British Diversity Experiment, Innovation Social), Nathalie Gordon (Sunshine), Selma Nicholls (Looks Like Me) and Wren Graham (Sunshine).