LO1: "free the shoulders"

 Head and shoulders campaign "Free the shoulders" Anti-bullying campaign 2022

Target Audience: 

The target audience for the campaign '#freetheshoulders' are people who suffer from bad experiences with their body image, the target audience is all genders/ all ages. The target audience is people who want to end the suffering they have faced when trying to fit into the societal stereotypes.

Key Message:

 The key message of the '#Freetheshoulders' campaign is a call for body positivity, and to encourage the audience to feel free to be themselves without the pressure of society. The aim is to challenge the stigma surrounding body image and how we perceive ourselves; it is a call to empower people to feel confident and proud of their bodies. The idea behind 'freetheshoulders' is to highlight shoulders, by doing this they connote vulnerability and self-acceptance, The focus on shoulders also links to the idea of the brand being called head and shoulders. Additionally the denotation of the images for the campaign being close ups, connote the idea that our body is not who defines us; the images being of people faces connotes that it is how we act in society that defines the sort of person you are, and not by how you look. The close ups connote tension and verisimilitude due to the eye contact we can denote. The campaign is to celebrate our bodies and the uniqueness we all possess, also the idea to have an open discussion on body image and mental health. The campaign is to tackle to ideology of a beauty standard.

Engage the audiences:

The Hashtag "#FreeTheShoulder" is to help parents engage with spreading the message of anti-bullying. This engages the audience by having a safe space (AKA the hashtag) to bring a audience. The hashtag is used to let participants to post their experiences and personal stories regarding body image and how id inflicted their lives and mental health. The hashtag was crated to provide a safe space for the audience to create open conversations on the topic; many ways that the hashtag has been used is by sharing photos, videos, and stories. Participants help you get to know them a little which creates a safe community. Often, it works with different influencers and ambassadors who relate to the message and have a platform to engage more people to speak up on their experiences, which helps them realise that talking about body positivity is normal and should be a large topic of discussion. This campaign is also backed by the Diana Award in their anti-bullying movement.

Usage of Stereotypes:

The campaign emphasizes how these stereotypes are seriously affecting people and their mental health and self-esteem, relating to the fact that everyone deserves to feel confident and beautiful. This campaign tackles the nasty usages of stereotypes. By challenging stereotypes in the adverts, the campaign is aimed to be progressive and empowering. The verisimilitude of everyone who is advertised being unique which is a positive message.

Logistics of the campaign:

Facilitating logistics in the project #FreeTheShoulders includes different ways of communicating the message to a wide audience; this would involve creating and sharing content throughout social media platforms, encouraging people to generate user content, and making the hashtag more widespread. The hashtag is a staple in the sharing of the message the campaign promotes. Many times, Head and Shoulders collaborate with social influencers and different advocates of the campaign to create more impact. This might even include events, workshops, or activities with the aim of enhancing body positivity and self-acceptance that engage the community and help them inform each other. The visual elements such as graphics and videos are produced for marketing in order to describe and draw attention to the main point of the campaign and the encouragement for participation. When it comes to logistics as a whole, they are used to making sure the audience are getting involved and there is a non-judgmental environment in which they can comfortably share their experiences and oppose stereotypes.

Legal and Ethical issues:

Legal:

The campaign #Freetheshoulders, has a diverse legal implications. There are copyright issues regarding images and videos that campaign participants share; the campaign must be sure it has the right to use any of the materials that are posted online under the hashtag .There is also privacy and consent which needs to be reviewed upon by the social media teams, for example they cannot just use any information towards the campaign unless it is specified ( Via the hashtag). The campaign should seek if they are legally in their right to use the materials that are posted online, this is to prevent action taken against them as it wouldn't be a great impact towards the message of the campaign; permission to use images and case stories publicly. Advertising laws will be involved, when this campaign works with brands or influencers, to make sure content gets labeled as 'Sponsored' in the right way. This is done to ensure all rights are protected for the influencers, and so the campaign can remain.

Ethical:

Due to being a campaign based around bullying, there's lots of potential ethical issues surrounding it, and so head & shoulders have to tread carefully. For example, it's a widespread global issue that affects many people at every age and from every diverse background. This is denoted in this cross media campaign, especially in the YouTube video where a diverse cast is employed, connoting and re-enforcing the idea that bullying happens to everybody, regardless of exterior factors.

Consistent Message of the campaign:

This campaign uses colours such as blues and turquoise to connote the reference to the brand and their signature colours. They stand out and connote a message that the brand 'Head and shoulders' and the charity 'Anti-bullying' are joining forces to take action on the problem. Denoted on the images I have carefully hand picked into my blog. By using the imagery of a head in the logo of the Diana awards connotes bravery, which denotes perfectly with head and shoulders as they are a hair care brand who strive to ensure all customers feel brave with their hair. They have aimed the campaign at a younger audience and have done so by using young people as actors in their tv and internet advertisement, which helps connect to a younger audience, whilst also getting parents talking. the head and shoulders logo being denoted in the video campaign connotes that the brand are happy to be working along side a good cause, adding to the company's morals which can connote that they would be expected to see a rise in sales. A peice of media they crafted which denotes the head and shoulders logo is the "#FreeTheShoulder" poster which denotes a variation of ethnic backgrounds and personalities.