Client: Pearson
Formats: TVC, Print, Digital, Social
Role: Lead design
Agency: FCB Inferno

—

Background

This was the launch of Project Literacy. Convened by Pearson, Project Literacy is a collection of charities, NGOs and corporations aiming to put a serious dent in the 768 million illiterate people globally.

The brief was to create a campaign that would raise awareness of the scale, severity and consequences of illiteracy, to push illiteracy higher on the political agenda, and for the United Nations to make illiteracy a target within sustainable development goals so that by 2030 no child will be born at risk of illiteracy.

Approach

Each letter in the alphabet is represented with hand crafted sculptures by Wilfred Wood – known for his satirical work on Spitting Image – which were turned into 3D models. The result is an uncomfortable juxtaposition of a child-like visual language with characters highlighting the world's gravest issues.

Result

The campaign gained a lot of traction with an audience reach of over 460,000,000. Project Literacy were invited to join the Unesco panel on global illiteracy. The campaign won the Cannes Grand Prix for Health in 2016.