The Dylan Alcott Foundation via BWM Dentsu Melbourne and Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has launched Remove the Barrier, a new campaign asking Australians to remove the invisible barriers that prevent people with disability finding work.
Remove the barrier addresses a problem facing one in five Australians, 4.3 million people, someone who is a person with a disability.
Dylan Alcott explained that despite being willing and able workers, people with disability struggle to find jobs.
He said: “The unemployment rate for people with a disability is twice that of the general population and that’s shameful.
“The Dylan Alcott Foundation decided it was time to raise awareness of this issue and change perceptions of what employees with disability can achieve.”
The integrated campaign is led by an emotive film created by Tom Campbell and Glendyn Ivin from Exit Films.
The film aims to highlight that people with disabilities spend their whole lives overcoming barriers, but there is one barrier which we can’t see, unconscious bias, that is often the biggest hurdle when trying to find employment.
One of the stars of the campaign is 24-year-old, university-educated, Oliver Hunter who uses a wheelchair and has encountered unconscious bias, lack of opportunities and accessibility issues in his hunt for fulfilling work.
“I’d happily go into an interview and get knocked back for my lack of skills, but I’ve always felt that my disability has been the sole reason for employers turning me down,” Hunter said.
BWM ECD Phil van Bruchem said: “In a country that prides itself on giving people a fair go, it’s a shame that there’s an unconscious bias towards people with disabilities in the workforce. This campaign is the first step in raising awareness for this issue and for us to start removing these barriers for good.”
Supporting collaborators include 2019 Grammy Award nominee and APRA Music Songwriter of the year, Sarah Aarons, who produced the campaign backing track named ‘Invisible’. Born in Melbourne, Aarons is one of the country’s leading talents and a disability advocate after undergoing a recent amputation.
The campaign has already gained support from some of the country’s leading companies with Nike, ANZ, NEC, Medibank and QT Melbourne throwing their support behind its initiative.
The campaign features out of home, social and digital elements featuring portraits of real Australians with a disability who have experienced their own barriers to employment.
BWM Dentsu Melbourne, Haystac and Cox Inall Change worked in partnership with DAN agencies Isobar, dentsuX and Posterscope to bring the project to life.
Credits
Creative Agency: BWM Dentsu Melbourne
Chief Creative Officer: Rob Belgiovane
Associate ECD: Phil van Bruchem
Managing Director: Belinda Murray
Associate Creative Directors: Tim Smith and Giles Watson
Creative: Corey Thorn
Designer: Caitlin Moloney
Agency Executive Producer: Sonia Mclaverty
Agency Producer: Kirja Parcell
Agency Integrated Project Manager: Nadia Samat
Account Manager: Sylvia Jahn
Production Company: Exit
Director: Tom Campbell
Production Consultant: Glendyn Ivin
Production Consultant: Alice Grant
Executive Producer: Declan Cahill and Leah Churchill-Brown
Producer: Alexandra George
Cinematographer: Sam Chiplin
Art Director: Asia Swida
Post Production: The Editors
Editor: Grace Eyre
Post Producer: Charlotte Griffiths
Music: Sarah Aarons
Producer: Mark Landon (M-Phazes)
Photography: Josh Robenstone
Producer: Chris Hemmings
Retouching: Ross Goddard
PR: Cox Inall Change and Haystac
General Manager – Justine Sywak
Senior Account Manager – Molly Bruce
Senior Account Executive – Lauren Everett
Senior Account Manager – Charlotte Jover
Senior Account Executive – Emma Schwarer
Client: Dylan Alcott Foundation
Founder: Dylan Alcott
Board Member: Zack Alcott
General Manager: Georgie Saggers
Marketing & Partnership Advisor: Spencer Ratcliff
Creative Collaborators: Oli Stratford, Ashley Jamieson, Zander Fraillon, Alexandra Sayers
