The John Lewis Partnership & Create Not Hate - The People's Potato
Create Not Hate and Quiet Storm
Client: The John Lewis Partnership
To this end, it wanted to tap into diverse and under-represented creative talent and give them an opportunity to do paid placements with the company by collaborating with Create Not Hate (CNH) - a community interest company founded by Trevor Robinson OBE in 2007 that gives underrepresented young people opportunities in the creative industries. Together, JLP and CNH worked on a brief to deliver something powerful and authentic to celebrate, inspire and help provide a deeper and more contemporary understanding of what it means to be British. The result was two-fold: an initiative that raised awareness of both CNH’s mission to get more diverse creatives into the industry and, also, resulted in ‘The People’s Potato’ campaign, comprising work that celebrates multicultural Britain and achieved stand-out results. Developed through a series of workshops with young people aged between 15 and 22, engaged through youth outreach partnerships with organisations including local councils, schools and youth groups (many of which work with young people from underrepresented backgrounds) the creative work focused on the shared love we all have for the humble potato – a vegetable which, as it can be used in so many different ways, embodies the campaign idea that there’s more that unites us than divides us. Meanwhile, diverse young participants were exposed to their own creative potential. Four completed six-week paid creative placements, while others gained invaluable experience and mentoring.