Ash is a young woman who is brilliant at maths and loves to draw. She can’t cope with being touched and familiar things, like her hoodie, are her lifeline. Ash has autism in Havas London’s documentary, Me, My Autism and I, for Vanish, created with support from Ambitious about Autism.
Me, My Autism and I won Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award, which provides the 3.40 minute film with £1 million worth of commercial advertising airtime across the whole Channel 4 network. That’s a great thing. The campaign aims to nurture a conversation to broaden public understanding of autism – particularly in girls, who are three times less likely to receive a diagnosis than boys(1). As a brand, Vanish is committed to helping clothes last longer – and for most autistic people, familiar and consistent clothing can help with sensory regulation and provide a source of comfort.
The film, which was directed by by Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper and produced by Smuggler, premiered on Channel 4 on Friday March 31 during Gogglebox.
The brief for this year’s Diversity In Advertising Award was to tackle the ongoing lack of authentic portrayal and representation of visible or non-visible disabilities. It was the first time Channel 4 revisited a theme – this one also featured in the 2016 award.
New Channel 4 insights(2) revealed that only 4% of TV adverts in the UK feature disabled people, compared to 22% of the UK population who are disabled. Vanish’s winning campaign draws attention to the gender gap in autism diagnoses to celebrate and support autistic girls, breaking down myths to help girls be seen as part of a broader public understanding of autism. It launched during World Autism Acceptance Week, and ahead of World Autism Awareness Day on Sunday April 2. The full campaign includes a £100k social content series produced by Channel 4’s digital content team 4Studio, an exhibition on London’s South Bank, a social campaign and online hub telling other autistic girls’ stories, a research and talent-backed PR activation, and direct financial support to Ambitious about Autism, as well as a number of disability and neurodiversity commitments from Vanish owner, Reckitt.
Research behind the campaign also reveals that 92% of autistic people are affected by sensory sensitivity. 73% use clothes to help regulate their senses, and 75% say keeping the look, smell and feel of clothes the same is important. Wearing familiar clothing directly affects the mood of 81% of autistic people, and an attachment to clothing was a factor that led over a third (34%) of autistic people to think they might be autistic. Strikingly, 98% of the autistic community think their lives would improve if the public had a better understanding of autism.
Supporting the campaign through PR is model and author, Christine McGuinness,who unveils her own must-have clothing item – a grey hoodie. Through media interviews and social media support, Christine is raising awareness by sharing her own story while encouraging other autistic people to share their own. The campaign also includes influencers, ADHD Love and Ellie Midds, who create compelling social content showing their own journey with autism, and why clothing lasting longer is so important to them.
A free exhibition, Me, My Autism & I, is running at London’s gallery@oxo from Wednesday March 27 – Sunday April 2, featuring the intimate stories of 12 young autistic girls and their must-have clothing items that help make their world more comfortable. The multi-sensory exhibition aims to educate and normalise living with and being around people with autism – while encouraging others to also share their stories on living with autism.
Vanish, part of the Reckitt group, has also begun working with charity partners, Ambitious about Autism and Neurodiversity in Business, to build support for its neurodiverse colleagues and those that care for people with neurodiverse conditions. A new toolkit not only aims to educate on neurodiversity but provides people with practical tools to support and feel supported in the workplace, while Reckitt has provided neurodiversity training to its employees and now offers employee volunteer days with Ambitious about Autism to continue to build an ongoing relationship.
As part of the campaign and its partnership with Ambitious about Autism, Vanish is donating 25p from every pack of Vanish Gold Range sold in UK Asda* stores between March 29 and April 18 to help the charity to help create a world where autistic girls and young people are heard, included and supported.
Cigdem Kurtulus, chief marketing and digital officer at Vanish parent, Reckitt, stated, “Our campaign aims to broaden public understanding, challenge assumptions and inspire an ongoing conversation to help autistic girls, women and all autistic people get the support they need to fulfil their potential. Making clothes last longer matters for us all, but for some it really matters. Clothes aren’t just an item, they’re a lifeline for many people’s everyday lives, helping them feel comfortable and safe. It’s our ongoing mission to ensure clothes stay true to new for longer, extending the garments’ life after washing.”
Elliot Harris, Reckitt global executive creative director & creative partner at Havas London, added, “Working closely with teams across Reckitt and Ambitious about Autism, we identified a universal truth among the autistic community: that clothes can be a lifeline; a source of comfort to help navigate a world not built for them. For Vanish, this represents a clear, credible role for the product and a natural synergy with its purpose: keeping these clothes the same, wash after wash, really matters.
“We set out to shatter the misconception that autism primarily impacts boys – balancing positive portrayals of autistic girls’ talents with honest, authentic insights into their struggles. This campaign, which includes a commitment by Reckitt to becoming more inclusive in their own approach to neurodiversity, platforms autistic female voices across every touchpoint, will broaden public understanding and, ultimately, help an underrepresented community feel seen, heard and supported.”
Tom Hooper, Director, added, “It was so important for me to cast an autistic girl at the centre of this film, and ideally a real family. I was astonished by Ash and her family. Ash is an extraordinary actress, a unique talent who commands the camera in every frame. Going through the rushes in the edit she was incapable of being false or untruthful. The fact that she’s never acted before, and never been in front of a camera (apart from a school play!) is mind blowing.
“As a culture we’ve been going on an important journey about representation and identity. Ash’s brilliance shows the talent that you can unleash by allowing people to tell their own story.
“The film was truly a co-production with Ash and the family – I wanted it to be their voice. Everything in the film is based on Ash and the family’s experience of living with autism. The script was completely rewritten to reflect their lived experience, and we used improvisation on set throughout so that I could capture their voices. Ash’s mum has a background in stage acting, but Ash’s dad and her sister Lily were also acting here for the first time. Even Ash’s two friends in the school scenes were played by her actual best friends – also non-actors!
“The theme of acceptance is so important – being highlighted now in World Autism Acceptance Week. Acceptance as a theme has always fascinated me as a filmmaker – from the theme of acceptance and forgiveness in my first film Red Dust to the acceptance of stammering and the acceptance of help in The King’s Speech to the themes of acceptance I explored through the trans pioneer Lily Elbe in The Danish Girl.
“Ash was only diagnosed 18 months ago – the diagnosis took three years. Changing the system so that autism in girls can be understood and accepted is so important. Girls are underrepresented in the autism narrative. I hope this film in a small way helps to start to readdress that, by giving Ash and her family their voice.”
(1) Loomes, R., Hull, L., & Mandy, W. P. L. (2017). What Is the Male-to-Female Ratio in Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(6), 466–474., link here
(2) Source: Ambitious about Autism & Vanish, 2023, sample size of 517 autistic girls, boys, non-binary people and their network
Credits:
Client: Reckitt (Vanish)
UK Marketing Director, Reckitt: Cigdem Kurtulus
Head of Media for UK Hygiene, Reckitt: Alex Owen
Senior Brand Manager, Reckitt: Claudia Weston
Creative Agency: Havas London
UK Group CEO, Havas Creative: Xavier Rees
Chief Creative Officer: Vicki Maguire
Reckitt Global Executive Creative Director: Elliot Harris
Creative Director: Nick Rowland
Creative Team: Hollie Iles (Senior Creative), Sasha Midgley (Creative) & Aly Marx-Blackwell (Creative)
Global Managing Director: Tamara Greene
Managing Partner: Ainhoa Wadsworth
Business Director: Dom Skuratko
Senior Account Director: Catherine Martyn
Account Director: Nicole Burgess
Account Manager: Irina Patrichi
Executive Strategy Director: Britt Iversen
Group Strategy Director: Becky Taylor-Wilkinson
Strategist: Tom King
Head of Creative Services: Shaun Musgrove
Head of Production: Katie Keith
Head of Film: Louise Bonnar
Senior Film Producer: Katie Wood
Assistant Film Producer: Sian O’Halloran
Creative Production Director: Stefanie Price
Creative Producers: Kieran Worboys & Lucy Farrell
Senior Brand Designer: Sarah Butler
Senior Designer: Darta Losane
Conceptual Designer: Morgan Shipley
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Marta Kisluk
New Business & Consultant: Charlotte Anderson
Production Company: SMUGGLER
Director: Tom Hooper
Executive Producers: Lucy Kelly & Fergus Brown
Producer: Molly Pope
DoP: Steve Annis
Production Designer: Robin Brown
Production Manager: Meghan Young
Production Coordinator: Sidney Arthur
Production Runner: Izzy Davis
1st AD: Chris Kelly
Wardrobe Stylist: Cynthia Lawrence-Johns
Makeup Artist: Sara Bowden
Post Production: Whitehouse
Editor: Russell Icke
Assistant Editor: Thomas Sheriff
Head of Production: Ella Sedgwick
Executive Producer: Annabel Bennett
Casting Director: Kharmel Cochrane
Soundtrack Composer: Peter Raeburn @ Soundtree
Producer: Jay James
Audio post-production: 750MPH
Sound Engineer: Sam Ashwell
Head of production: Olivia Ray
Post-production: Company 3 & The Post Arm
Colourist: Simon Elbourne
Post-production Producers: Chris Anthony (Company 3), Helen Stanley, Emma Cook (The Post Arm)
Wider channel post-production: Havas Studios
Head Content Creator: Simon Allinson
Content Producer: Lauren Allen
Head of Production: Flo Clive
Lead Editor: Paul Reson
Integrated Producer: Phil Sheed
DoP: Beatriz Delgado Mena
Channel 4
Commercial Marketing Lead: Lizzy Phillips
Senior Client Lead: Zoe Bale
Client Lead: Joe Robinson
Charity Partner: Ambitious about Autism
Head of Marketing and Communications: Marie Ashton
Communications Manager: Catherine Ferris
Senior Marketing Manager: Aleksandra Kapuran
Digital Marketing Executive: Meera Karia
Digital Youth Engagement Manager: Abi Odell
Corporate New Business Lead: Eleanor Hull
Media Agency: Zenith
Client Partner: Harley Dhillon
Business Director: Dara Cafferkey
Planning Director: Alex Edgerton
Group AV Investment Director: Cyane Bonnell
Associate AV Director: Michael Kinsella
OOH & Location Director: Callum Davidson-Dean
OOH Client Manager: Jess Stock
PR Agency: One Green Bean
Head of PR: Sophie Nicholson
Associate Business Director: Inder Gill
Senior Account Manager: Sharnece Bent
Account Executive: Maryam Tukur
Exhibition Production: Energy Studios
Senior Account Manager: Grace Piddock
Production Manager: Emily Edwards
Designer: Christian Antonelli
Senior Account Director: Diana White
Production Director: Ben Way
Creative Director: James Edwards
