Down Syndrome International, Assume That I Can: The anatomy of a campaign
What’s the best thing to do with assumptions? Challenge them, of course.
And that’s exactly what happened with the ‘Assume That I Can’ campaign for World Down Syndrome Day 2024. But what were the elements that made it such a success? What did it tell us about the damaging effects that assumptions can have on the confidence and opportunities for people who are learning disabled?
Sookio Bootcamp attendee Artiola Krasniqi explores this bold, provocative campaign and analyses how it has managed to tug at the heartstrings of everyone who watched it - raising awareness of the charity as a result.
The campaign was created by Italian non-profit organisation CoorDown in collaboration with agency Small, and launched in time for World Down Syndrome Day. This global awareness day takes place on 21 March each year, which as organisers explain, is a date specifically chosen to signify “the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down Syndrome.”
Coordown’s stated goal is to produce: “social communication actions to raise awareness of the potential of people with Down Syndrome; promote their inclusion in school, in the workplace, and sport; share experiences among individual associations; identify and implement common strategies on shared policy issues.”
What’s the narrative of Assume That I Can campaign?
The video begins with a young woman with Down Syndrome, played by the incredible Madison Tevlin, who attempts to order a Margarita but is served a soda instead. This singular scene perfectly encapsulated the entire message of the campaign; this young woman will be subject to the prejudices and miseducation of people around her, who will so often assume that she can’t.
Her parents assume she can’t live on her own.
Her boxing coach assumes she can’t hit harder.
Her teacher assumes she can’t study Shakespeare.
Tevlin is infantilised and treated in a way that denies her capabilities as an adult woman with autonomy. With no life experience spared from an assumption, she is unfortunately stuck with no room to progress. And because she is not given the opportunity to live through these life experiences, she simply does not.
The negative assumptions around living with Down’s Syndrome
In her extremely poignant speech to the United Nations, Marta Sodano, an Italian woman with Down Syndrome, described the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy. She says that:
“a teacher who thinks that a student cannot understand would just act accordingly and therefore they would not teach the student. And there you go: the prophecy self-fulfils.”
This campaign draws attention to the harm that this causes to the Down Syndrome community, who collectively experience being subject to it. Although the intentions of those around them are not wholly negative, they can subconsciously restrict their ambitions, which can lead to high levels of dissatisfaction and weakened morale.
How Down Syndrome influencer Madison Tevlin adds impact and authenticity to the Assume That I Can campaign
Almost ironically, the first half of the video allows the viewers to create our own assumptions about the direction that the campaign will take. However, the rug is completely pulled from beneath our feet in the second half when Tevlin says “if all your assumptions become reality, then assume that I can drink a Margarita.”
Wanting our assumptions to be put to good use, the video ends on a powerful note, with Tevlin asking the viewer to “assume that I can, so maybe I will.”
Madison Tevlin, the superstar actress and disability influencer at the face of the campaign, is no stranger to success with over 300k followers on Instagram. However, she has also experienced the harsh assumptions about Down Syndrome.
Tevlin describes, in an interview with CNN, how:
“When I was born, the doctor told my mom and dad that life would be really hard for me, saying that I can’t talk, or walk, or model, or act – or drinking or getting married – any of this stuff that’s a part of normal life. And it’s so much fun proving people wrong.”
How successful was inclusivity campaign Assume That I Can?
With an impressive 310k views to date on YouTube, the campaign’s impact is paramount.
One viewer describes it as “the best campaign I’ve seen in a long time” and another person thinks it is a “wonderful, powerful, transformational video” that needs to be “shared far and wide.”
The disability campaign has also found massive success on a media level; Sonia Thompson from Forbes believes that this campaign has been the catalyst for the much-needed change in society’s perceptions of Down Syndrome.
She says that, “We need more campaigns that uplift, educate, and inspire communities on such a broad level.”
It is clear that the Assume That I Can campaign has set the precedent for challenging prejudice and discrimination and has provided the framework for many more campaigns in the future that wish to tackle similar topics.
More Down Syndrome awareness campaigns for inspiration
Coordown and Small are also behind 2021’s The Hiring Chain campaign, featuring Sting.
Delivered through a very impressive website setup which prompts the user to create a handshake with their mouse, The Hiring Chain depicts the story of Simone, a woman with Down Syndrome, who is hired to work in a bakery.
When a lawyer sees Simone working, she is encouraged to hire a man with Down Syndrome. From there, a hiring chain is formed because it inspired the dentist, the farmer and the barber to also hire a person with Down Syndrome.
Achieving nearly 500k YouTube views, the campaign is accompanied by award-winning artist Sting’s charming vocals and pushes the idea that a single choice to hire a person with a learning difficulty opens opportunities for the community to flourish.
Coordown says that, “By hiring someone with Down Syndrome, you start a virtuous chain. The more that people with Down Syndrome are seen at work, the more they’ll be recognised as valuable employees, and the more they’ll be hired.”
Alexandra Jardine at AdAge believes that ‘The Hiring Chain’ brings to light “the benefits of inclusivity through a positive chain reaction” and it certainly does just that. Similarly to the Assume That I Can campaign, The Hiring Chain draws attention to how the everyday struggles of those with Down Syndrome are worsened by a society that is unwilling to accommodate them.
Also including a catchy jingle, the Ridiculous Excuses Not To Be Inclusive campaign was created to poke fun at the laughable excuses people have given for excluding those with Down Syndrome from everyday activities.
One woman was not invited to a dinner party because the organiser “has run out of chairs” and another boy was excluded from an event because “the other mums would be too upset.” However, most shockingly of all, peers of one girl were told “don’t touch her, she has a disease, and it can be contagious.”
Gaining 60 million overall impressions in just 10 days, it is safe to say that Small and Coordown have managed to create effective and inclusive campaigns that do what many don’t. They tackle difficult conversations sensitively but head-on, emphasising the need to challenge unacceptable discrimination and prejudice towards people with Down Syndrome.
Beyond campaigns like Assume That I Can and The Hiring Chain, World Down Syndrome Day has been the trigger for many more inclusive marketing campaigns designed to get people talking about the condition.
Most notably, the Lots of Socks Campaign creatively encouraged people to wear their boldest socks so when asked about them, they can strike up a conversation about the disability. Allowing supporters to buy official socks designed by people with Down Syndrome, thousands of people have shared their sock photos on social media using the hashtag #LotsOfSocks.
The campaign has provided a unique way of encouraging open and honest conversations about life with Down Syndrome and is a great first step in ending stereotypes.
How effective was the Assume That I Can campaign?
Down Syndrome International perfectly describe the campaign as a call for, “everyone to put an end to prejudice and support the concrete potential of each person who has Down Syndrome.” Given that the campaign has achieved widespread success and support from its audience, its effect on challenging misconceptions about Down Syndrome is undeniable.
The campaign is undoubtedly insightful, inspiring and extremely powerful. It has perfectly addressed the true harm that negative assumptions can have and has called for the removal of barriers placed in front of the Down Syndrome community in order for them to flourish.
Your next steps to marketing that makes a positive impact
If this article has got you thinking, do take a look at related campaign analysis posts written by Sookio Bootcamp attendees, like Dove Reverse Selfie, Bodyform Womb Stories and LEGO Braille Bricks. We also have examples from successful projects in our public sector and charity portfolio page, or go straight to case studies with Alzheimer’s Society, Beacon rare disease charity and Techfugees.
Get in touch to find out more about consultancy for inclusive marketing campaigns.
A final note to say that in the UK the condition is more commonly called Down’s Syndrome, but for consistency we’ve gone with the term used by the organisers and agency who developed the campaign.
And it’s a subject that’s close to Sookio Founder Sue Keogh’s heart, as her cousin had the condition and she saw up close the difference it can make when you are surrounded by family that love you, celebrate you, and really do ‘assume that you can’. Read his story in this lovely piece on Leukaemia UK: Wherever he went, he made people’s lives better.