Extraordinary Ordinary

Client: Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation

WPP and its cross-agency team created a campaign to celebrate Stephen Lawrence’s legacy on the 30th anniversary of his death – 22nd April 2023. It aimed to raise awareness of SLDF, drive donations and prompt business leaders to drive change within their companies. 

As part of this, BCW developed a creative platform, #ExtraordinaryOrdinary, which was built around the insight that Stephen was an ordinary person who had the potential to achieve extraordinary things. The team also wrote a poem of the same title which served as the central narrative for the campaign. Working with Hogarth, BCW filmed an advert featuring Baroness Lawrence and TV presenter Clara Amfo reciting the poem. It ran on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, with headline spots including Coronation Street (2.9m Adults), 1% Club (3.2m Adults), Gogglebox (2.4m) Celebrity Bake Off (1.5m) and the UEFA Champions League (1.1m). 

The team worked with artist Kingsley Nebechi to create a digital ad which appeared in locations such as Oxford Circus and Bank. A pledge, which invited organisations to commit to taking action that would positively impact underserved communities, was also developed and ran in the Financial Times. 

While the TV ad was on the air, donations to SLDF skyrocketed by 489% and +301% in April in total. Digital visuals were seen 22.13m times and influential public figures such as Idris Elba, Jon Snow and Dawn Butler MP shared content from the campaign on their social channels. 

The campaign forms part of WPP’s commitment to help combat racial injustice.