To mark World Toilet Day on 19th November, we partnered up with UN-Water to raise awareness and donations via a creative campaign. It may sound funny, but toilets are the most overlooked human right. Every year, over 360,000 children die from preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation. In the west, we tend to take toilets for granted, but in developing countries, 2.3 billion people live without access to toilets, of which 1 billion still practice open defecation. The creative campaign was founded on an untold truth…the global sanitation crisis claims more casualties through illness than any war.
Philosophy
We were tasked with the challenge of making the people of London see the humble toilet in a completely new light. This meant: grabbing their attention, making them aware of the problem and re-framing toilets as a cause which they can easily connect and donate to.
Problem
• Toilets are less sexy than other causes and therefore receive less attention and investment • People who have toilets no longer feel the need to think or talk about them • The Toilet Taboo: many people are too shy or embarrassed to talk about toilets, which only perpetuates the silent nature of the issue
Result
the posters were seen by more than 20,000 people, the creative idea demanded attention, forcing many to stop, stare and think. We made people see the humble toilet in a completely new light. Starting a conversation, breaking a taboo and making a difference. Together with the digital campaign and #WorldToiletDay we inspired 1000s of social media posts and contributed towards raising over £44,000 for sanitation projects in developing countries.