Uncovering the many small, unseen forms of domestic violence

Many of Ad Nut’s human friends may be unaware of the signs of coercion in a relationship. Hence a powerful new PSA by the Western Australia (WA) government that links often-subtle signs of coercive control to domestic violence. To attain the ideas for the campaign, partner agency 303 MullenLowe conducted research with people from lived experience which included community members and Indigenous people who enlightened the creative team about prevailing attitudes and beliefs on coercion. These discussions led to a series of lightbulb moments for everyone.

The agency’s chief strategy officer Matt Oakley said: “Whether it was men who previously dismissed controlling behaviours, or people with lived experience of family and domestic violence who said that at the time they were unaware of what was happening to them, everyone appreciated just how difficult coercive control is to recognise.”

This is what Ad Nut sees as impactful insight, as coercion—whether or not humans recognise it—is domestic violence regardless of physicality. In the two 30-second films, two women characters undergo a series of seemingly ‘regular’ episodes implicated by their partners. For instance, in a setting where a couple is having a meal with their friends, a man says ‘you’d prefer this’, pushing a plate of vegetables towards his partner. Another person in the group senses that his behaviour is strange.

In another scenario, the same man in the couple reacts disproportionately when his partner simply looks at another man. This is all to indicate that domestic violence can take many forms even if they aren’t physical. Ad Nut also likes that the campaign recognises children and young people as victim-survivors of domestic violence in their own right. 

Kylie Macey, general manager of Mediahub Perth, the media strategy company affliated with the campaign, said: “While we cannot broadly target people based on their experience, we can design a media strategy to be ready for all scenarios and leverage the key principles of persistency and consistency to increase education of coercive control, creating unique journeys for the WA community as they move towards better understanding of coercive control.”

Carat WA also worked alongside 303 MullenLowe and Mediahub to assist with strategy and media planning. This is the second campaign where this trio of agencies worked on a WA government campaign, the first being a PSA to tackle vaccine misinformation.

The two films are part of the first phase of a two-year awareness campaign which will be seen across BVOD, OOH, social, digital, radio, ambient, press, and search. 

CREDITS

Client:
Department of the Premier and Cabinet
Department of Communities

Creative Agency: 303 MullenLowe Perth
Executive Creative Director- Sara Oteri
Copywriter- Ellysia Burton
Art Director – Stephen Hansen
Chief Strategy Officer - Matt Oakley
Junior Planner - Harvey Clarke-Smith
Head of Production/Agency Producer - Johnathan Julius
Managing Director – René Migliore
Senior Business Director - Holly Creasey
Senior Business Manager - Devon Jackson
Head of Design - Alby Furfaro
Graphic Designer - Lucas Faim
Artworker- Suzanne Whoston & Angela Homann

Mediahub (Media Strategy)
General Manager: Kylie Macey

Carat WA Team
Client Partner: Michelle Testa
Planning Director: Ash Idle
Group Investment Director: Sam Giuffre
Snr Client Manager: Emily Whyte
Client Manager: Morgan Hopkins
Digital Executive: Nicole MacNeil
Client Associate: Oliver O’Meehan
Head of Performance: Sean Birkholtz
Performance Director: Lucy Thompson
Digital Executive: Mae Dolan
Data & Analytics Lead: Griffin Becker
Data & Analytics Director: Meenakshi Mondal
Production Co: Clockwork Films WA
Post Production: Clockwork Films
Executive Producer: Katie Trew
Director: Matt Sav
Stills Photographer: Finlay Mackay
Producer: Anouk Ratnawibhushana
Production Manager: Alex Nell
DOP: Lewis Potts
Casting & Locations: Megan Carpenter
Post Audio: Envelope Audio
Sound Design & Engineering: Ned Beckley

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