 | |
| Agency | MullenLowe |
|---|---|
| Market | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Running time | 1 |
| Release date(s) | 22 January 2021 |
| Slogan |
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"Can you look them in the eyes?" is a 2021 public health campaign of the British government during the COVID-19 pandemic, designed to encourage the public to follow COVID restrictions. It was launched in January 2021 across radio and television, as well as in other media. [1]
Produced by the advertising agency MullenLowe, [2] and filmed at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, [3] the campaign features adverts showing close-up facial shots of a number of doctors, healthcare workers and COVID patients wearing oxygen masks, and asks people if they can "look them in the eyes" and tell them they are doing everything they can to stop the spread of the virus, while urging the public not to leave home unless for essential reasons. [4] Media, including EuroWeekly News , have described it as "the hardest hitting ad campaign ever", and a change in tone from previous UK public health campaigns during the pandemic. [5] In addition to these adverts, a short film features one-on-one interviews with staff working at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital in which they discuss their experiences looking after patients with COVID. [3]
The campaign's launch occurred a few weeks after England had entered a third period of national lockdown in an attempt to control an ongoing increase in the number of daily cases of the virus, and deaths linked to it. The adverts first appeared on television on 22 January 2021, airing during commercial breaks on ITV and Channel 4. The campaign was subsequently rolled out to other media, including radio and social media platforms, the following day. [4] [6] [7]
Kate Magee, of Campaign , observed that the campaign was aimed at two groups of people – those who bend the rules and those who ignore them because they do not believe they are at risk, but questioned whether the campaign would be effective in reaching these groups, or whether it was instead more likely just to terrify those already following the rules. [2] EuroWeekly News noted that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had recently attracted criticism for what it described as "scaremongering" and suggested he was likely to do so again because of the nature of the campaign. [5]
Writing for Spiked magazine , Philip Hammond cited the campaign as an example of the public being "nudged" into compliance with COVID regulations, with the campaign targeted at those who felt complacency for the rules. [8] In The Spectator , Douglas Murray cited it as an example of people being shamed into compliance, and suggested the campaign was "deemed to be a good utilisation of shame". [9]
In May 2022, and following the publication of the Gray Report into the Partygate scandal which had seen several gatherings held at Downing Street and other government venues during the various lockdowns in England, The Drum website reported that the Labour Party had bought up the advertising space on the ConservativeHome website in what was described as an ad takeover. The ads featured an image of a mask-wearing nurse with the text "Look into her eyes and tell her you still back Boris Johnson". [10]
Simon Laurence Stevens, Baron Stevens of Birmingham is Chair of Cancer Research UK and an independent member of the House of Lords. He served as the eighth Chief Executive of NHS England from 2014 to 2021.
Led By Donkeys is a British political campaign group, established in December 2018 as an anti-Brexit group, but which has also criticised other actions of the Conservative government. Since the group's creation its four founders have been calling out what they call "thermonuclear hypocrisy" and used satire targeted at pro-Brexit politicians. Led By Donkeys' main campaign consists of billboards containing past tweets by pro-Brexit politicians, or quotes presented as tweets. These tweets state the politicians' previous political positions, which according to the group have not stood the test of time.
"Catch It, Bin It, Kill It" is a slogan used in several public health campaigns of the British government to promote good respiratory and hand hygiene by recommending carrying tissues, using them to catch a cough or sneeze, disposing of them immediately in a waste bin and then killing any remaining viruses by washing hands or using hand sanitiser. In 2007, following evidence that good respiratory and hand hygiene might reduce the spread of flu, the phrase appeared in a government campaign that publicised the directive "Catch it, Bin it, Kill it" throughout the NHS, on buses and trains and in libraries, shopping centres and police stations.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the UK Government introduced various public health and economic measures to mitigate its impact. Devolution meant that the four nations' administrative responses to the pandemic differed; the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive produced different policies to those that apply in England. Numerous laws were enacted or introduced throughout the crisis.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in England from January 2020 to June 2020. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom from January 2021 to June 2021.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in England during 2021. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland during 2021. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales during 2021. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
Topham Guerin is an advertising agency company founded in New Zealand in 2016 by Sean Topham and Ben Guerin. The company is headquartered in Auckland and has offices in London and Sydney. It has worked on several high-profile political communications campaigns, including the 2019 Conservative Party election campaign in the UK.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in England from July 2020 to December 2020. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
Events from the year 2022 in the United Kingdom.
Partygate is a political scandal in the United Kingdom about gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gatherings. The scandal contributed to Boris Johnson's downfall as Prime Minister and his resignation as an MP.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom from January to June 2022.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in England during 2022. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland during 2022. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales during 2022. There are significant differences in the legislation and the reporting between the countries of the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
Witman Hung partygate refers to a political scandal in Hong Kong that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. A banquet was held at a tapas bar in Wan Chai on 3 January 2022, during the fifth wave of COVID-19 pandemic, to celebrate the 53rd birthday of Witman Hung Wai-man, a delegate of Hong Kong to the National People's Congress. Amidst initial spread of the Omicron variant, the event was attended by at least 225 people, including fourteen senior officials and twenty lawmakers, exceeding the legal capacity of the venue. The party was held against advice given by authorities to avoid large gatherings, and some attendees were later scrutinised for failing to scan the LeaveHomeSafe contact tracing app, as was legally required.
Beergate was a British political controversy concerning allegations that an event in Durham on 30 April 2021, attended by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, could have been in breach of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Labour and Starmer said, at the time and since, that the event complied with the rules for work gatherings, with a pause for food. The police, after investigating, cleared the Labour attendees, including Starmer and Rayner.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom in 2023.
