 | |
| 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]
The Advertising Council, commonly known as Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements or PSAs on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations and agencies of the United States government.
John David Penrose is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare from 2005 until 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion at the Home Office from 2017 until 2022. He resigned on 6 June 2022 as the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion due to the Boris Johnson Partygate scandal.
Matthew John David Hancock is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 2018, and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2018 to 2021. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for West Suffolk from 2010 to 2024. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
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.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Wales on 28 February 2020, with a case being reported in the Swansea area; this first known case was a person who had recently returned from Italy. The first known case of community transmission was reported on 11 March in the Caerphilly area.
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 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.
Events from the year 2022 in the United Kingdom.
The government of Germany initially responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country with preventive measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 in the country. With the nationwide spread of the disease from March 2020, preventive measures were replaced by containment measures, including a lockdown from March. On 25 March, the Bundestag made the determination of an epidemic situation of national significance. This created a legal framework for the government of chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of the 16 German states to agree on nationwide pandemic restrictions. Implementation of decisions by that panel remained a matter of individual states, however, leading to differences in anti-pandemic rules and regulations across states. The Bundesnotbremse in force from April to June 2021 sought to establish uniformity.
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.
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.
