Fifteen advertising agencies have tendered for the national anti-racism awareness campaign. Over half exceeded the tender requirements and submitted creative work with their credential documents. The year-long campaign will begin in January and a shortlist will be drawn up over the next week.
Campaigning or social issue accounts are perceived within the industry as trophy accounts, as they offer both creative departments and account strategists the broader scope of non-commercially focused work.
Increased Government funding in certain areas has meant that they are no longer pro bono accounts - the three-year Citizen Traveller campaign for example has a budget of £900,000 (€1.14 million) and most agencies are still willing to negotiate a lower charge rate for such clients. The actual budget for the anti-racism advertising campaign has not been established. The Government has made £4.5 million available for the three-year awareness campaign and £1.5 million has been earmarked for 2002.
Part of the advertising agencies' pitch is to suggest what percentage of this budget would be needed to communicate the anti-racism message.
The public relations account is also out for tender, and 11 PR companies have pitched, including Edelman, which was responsible for the launch of the Know Racism national anti-racism awareness programme last month. PR accounts out to open tender rarely attract this level of interest.
"The brief to the agencies was deliberately broad," said Mr Terry Jennings, an administrator with the programme. "We've just started to open the tender documents and we have been surprised by the level of detail, particularly the inclusion of creative work." Asked whether the resulting campaign is likely to be a United Colours of Benetton approach - with cheery shots of cute Irish children of various ethnic backgrounds - Jennings is confident that it will be more hard-hitting, with "robust statements". Whichever agency is appointed to the task of devising the consciousness-raising campaign, it will undoubtedly reflect back to the Irish advertising industry - which has been slow to reflect our cultural diversity.
"Our anecdotal feedback suggests that advertising tends to present a monocultural Ireland," said Mr Philip Watt of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI), who added that he could not think of one ad reflecting cultural diversity.
"Even the slices of life segments that are on RT╔ television during the Angelus bells are another example," Mr Watt said. "I keep looking out for some representation of cultural diversity and it's not there." However, he acknowledges that the issue is a relatively new one - and that in all markets it has taken time for advertising to catch up.
bharrison@irish-times.ie
