“I don’t always join in…so what?” “I wear headphones…so what?” Independent agency, Do Not Behave, and research charity, Autistica, note that these little behaviours don’t mean much. The campaign challenges the public to be more accepting of autistic people’s behaviour.
The UK campaign leads with a 60-second film in which autistic people talk about their coping strategies. Not making eye contact. Needing to know plans exactly… The film launched on April 2 via social media to celebrate World Autism Acceptance Day and Month. It will air on Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, LinkedIn and the Autistica website. It aims to educate society by showing how autistic traits can be misread in everyday situations.
The film, Autistic. So what? was co-created with the autistic community, the film features autistic people, including actor and writer, Bradley Riches, who was diagnosed with autism aged nine and appears as an autistic character Lewis Barton in Emmerdale, in everyday moments where they are too often misread or judged. It is set to the sound of Bloc Party’s track Positive Tension.
Out of Home executions will run via Ocean Outdoor super sites in London and regionally to support the So What? theme.
The campaign is the latest stage in Autistica’s Our World 2030 strategy aiming to improve conditions for autistic people by the end of the decade. The work is built from behavioural insight to ensure the focus is on real behaviour change, clearly highlighting why it’s important to interpret difference differently.
Do Not Behave creative director, Jo Moore, commented, “It has been an amazing journey working on this campaign with Autistica. We’ve loved having such positive input from the autistic community, and those who came to the casting had certain lines that resonated with them personally. And it was brilliant being able to use Bloc Party’s Positive Tension. We think this campaign will make a huge contribution to the way autistic people are accepted by society.”
Bradley Riches added, “This film matters because it challenges attitudes towards autistic people. It takes the phrase, So What?, and turns it back on the judgement, asking people to respond with more understanding and, ultimately, greater acceptance.”
This is Do Not Behave’s first work for Autistica following its appointment to the account earlier this year. Previously Autistica’s agency was House337.
Credits:
Creative Agency: Do Not Behave
Executive Creative Directors: Jo Moore & Sue Higgs
Chief Strategy Officer: Sarah Davies
Strategy Director: Rachel Abbott
Agency Producer: Sue Lee Stern
Client: Autistica
Chief Executive Officer: Rebecca Sterry
Director of External Affairs: Dan McLean
Production Company: NOT JUST ANY
Director: Rob Sanderson
Executive Producer: Thea Slevin
Producer: Francesca Di Muro
Editor: Charles Gamble @ Cabin Editing Company
Post Production: OkayStudio
Sound Design: Parv Thind @ Noble State London
Typographer: Aaron Pacey
Motion Designer: Pete Lourenco
DoP: Ahmet Husseyin
Music Supervision: Gary Hilton @ GAS Music
Track: Positive Tension by Bloc Party
Thanks for usage permissions and support: Bloc Party, Sony Music Publishing and Universal/PIAS/Wichita-Recordings
