Stamma’s new awareness campaign, ‘Don’t be a knob, don’t jump in’, was created to show people who don’t stammer how frustrating it can be when they interrupt people who do.

“People who stammer face being interrupted, hung up on and having their sentences finished on a daily basis,” says Jane Powell, CEO at Stamma. “Whether it’s ordering a coffee, returning an item of furniture, or reporting a lost credit card; what should be a straightforward experience can be made a nightmare by staff unprepared for people who stammer. We’d love to help end this.”

Through a series of eye-catching print ads made with the help of illustrator Biff, the campaign captures how annoying it can be for people to have someone else – who is maybe just trying to be helpful – attempt to guess the end of their sentence, despite having no idea what it is. The accompanying campaign film, directed by Liakh at Spindle, shows behaviours on the more overtly rude and dismissive end of the spectrum.

The aim is to encourage individuals to eliminate both kinds of responses to people who stammer – who make up at least 1% of the UK population, according to the organisation – and to encourage businesses to do their part in making sure their employees follow suit, starting with the resources available on its dedicated website.

The campaign was devised by Stamma’s ongoing creative partner, VMLY&R, which as of 2024 will be known as VML following a merger with Wunderman Thompson.

vmlyr.com