To mark the upcoming election, the RNIB’s latest ad features a talking CCTV camera in a poll booth to highlight the fact that only 13% of blind people feel they can vote independently and in secret.
Created by purpose-driven agency Good, the fictional film puts a unique spin on the issue by highlighting how sighted people might react if cameras were to appear in the polling booth.
The video sees a woman met by a large-scale camera inside a polling booth. The camera then provides a running commentary on her voting, all in an effort to highlight that sighted people wouldn’t like losing their right to vote in secrecy and more than blind and partially sighted people do.
The messaging of the campaign is particularly timely in the context of the snap election, which was called with less than six weeks to go, making it especially hard for blind and partially sighted people to request the specific adaptations that they need.
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Supported by Michael Owen, Joe Joyce and Chris Skelley, the RNIB is calling on the next Prime Minister to make voting accessible for blind and partially sighted people across the board.
Good executive creative director Bryn Attewell said: “It’s incredibly important that we all have the same degree of secrecy when exercising our right to vote. But sadly, if you’re blind or partially sighted, you often have to have someone with you to put your cross down, so that secrecy is compromised.”
“With this campaign we wanted to raise awareness of the issue, but also put people in the shoes of those with sight loss – after all, you wouldn’t like it if someone was watching you vote, would you?”
RNIB director of brand Martin Wingfield added: “It’s been over 150 years since people have had the right to vote in secret, but this still isn’t afforded to many of the 2 million blind and partially sighted people who still face significant barriers to voting independently.”
“With this fictional film, we wanted to highlight what it feels like for people with sight loss to vote. You wouldn’t want someone watching you vote. But that’s often the reality for blind and partially sighted people,” he added.
“RNIB is calling for this to be last election that blind and partially sighted people can’t vote in secret and to resolve this once and for all.”
