A fresh and provocative campaign from Women’s aid, “Love Is not” dropped on Valentine’s day and it highlights examples of unhealthy relationships via Engine Creative.
The ads are a play on the original, “Love Is,” series by cartoonist Kim Grove. Originally she drew them as love letters to her partner Robert Casali. They featured cute sayings like, “Love is not saying I told you so!”
The cuteness has been co-opted to spread a very important message, the cartoons look the same but instead the sayings are written to raise awareness, “Love is not monitoring your time,” and “Love is not repeatedly putting you down.”
Its aim is to help women be able to identify unhealthy behaviours in a relationship and features the tagline, “It might feel like love, but it could be abuse.”
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Women’s Aid posted the campaign online and wrote: “Valentine’s Day is a challenging day for many experiencing domestic abuse.
“Abusive partners can often ‘love bomb’ their victim with excessive displays of romance or affection. This can actually be the start of a controlling relationship, as abusive partners may even appear as ‘perfect’.
“But the butterflies and excitement at the beginning can quite quickly turn into feelings of dread and fear, as abusive partners might begin to isolate survivors, tell them what to do, where they can go, among many tactics of control.
“Our new ad campaign is designed to raise awareness of what coercive control can look like and show people that #LoveIsNot control.
“If you need to talk today – Women’s Aid is here for you. Our Live Chat is available from 8 am-6 pm on weekdays and 10 am-6 pm on weekends, where a trained female support worker can help you explore your options.”
It’s clever, thoughtful and provoking.
