The Warmest Gesture
Doof Vlaanderen
Issue 59 | June 2021
Agency
darwin BBDO
Creative Team
Creative Director Klaartje Galle Creative Margot Van Hove, James Gambrill, Jan Schraeyen, Nina Welsch, Femke Merens, Mathijs Bettens
Production Team
Production Company Red Dust
Other Credits
Strategy Barbara De Laet Account Management Juliette Dugardyn Digital team Jan Seurinck, Lucas Gijs, Laurent Lenders
Date
November 2020
Background
There are over 500,000 deaf and hard of hearing people in Flanders. For many lip reading and seeing facial expressions are crucial to communication. Even before Covid this was not easy but during lockdown the mouth masks created, literally, insurmountable barriers.
Idea
With the "Warmest Gesture" all of Flanders was encouraged by Doof Vlaanderen, the Flemish foundation for the deaf, to roll up their sleeves and learn a bit of sign language. Radio, social media and display ads drove people to a YouTube channel where short videos taught them to pay compliments and say supportive things to deaf people in sign language. Influencers picked it up and spread the message. Even the Prime Minister made a video in sign language.
Results
In total over 6 million people were reached.
Earned media was ten times higher than the paid media. A lot of people sent their compliments privately while over 5,000 people shared their signed compliments with the world. Most importantly, hearing people got involved with sign language for the very first time.
Our Thoughts
For many people, lockdown was a time of isolation and loneliness. The surprising news is that suicide rates in most countries did not rise. (British Medical Journal, 29/03/21) For deaf people it has been particularly challenging. Face masks were the first problem. They make lip-reading impossible and it was the considerate Belgians who came up with the first masks with clear windows. Now this sympathetic campaign that recognises how Covid may well have affected the mental health of deaf people more than others.