Publicis Groupe Poland’s Latest Campaign Aims to Drive Inclusiveness for the Romani People

In a country where they are finally talking more and more about equality and tolerance, there are still ethnic groups that are treated in a stereotypical and prejudiced way. One of these groups are the Romani people. According to various and not entirely accurate sources, there are between a dozen and 30,000 of them in Poland. Publicis Worldwide Poland has decided to launch a public debate on the issue and give the Romani people the opportunity to speak out.

On the streets of Warsaw, billboards are calling on tech giants Google, Meta and Netflix to improve their services and products to be more inclusive of Romani people. The slogan of the campaign is #StopRomophobia. One of the billboards, located at Rondo Daszyńskiego, calls on Meta to add the Roma flag to its emoji library.

A project for Google's first ever Roma Doodle has appeared on a billboard in Towarowa Street. The doodle will appear on Google's homepage on 5th November, International Roma Day. The doodle was designed in consultation with the renowned Roma artist Malgorzata Mirga-Tas. 

A message referring to the popular TV series ‘Infamy’, which recreates many clichés about Romani people, was displayed next to the Netflix mural at the intersection of Krucza Street and Aleje Jerozolimskie.- The billboard is calling on Netflix to show this ethnic group without hurtful prejudices. 

"The fight against stereotypes is possible through the visibility of the Roma culture and community. We encourage companies such as Meta, Google and Netflix to help and take initiatives to ensure that Roma people can fully benefit from their services and products," says Joanna Karwowska-Koza, strategy and growth director at Publicis Worldwide Poland. Karolina and Karol Kwiatkowski of the Central Roma Council add: “According to data collected during the 2021 population census in Poland, more than 13,000 people identified themselves as Roma. The Romani people, in all their diversity, are the largest ethnic minority in Europe and face poverty and social exclusion. We can speak of the phenomenon of so-called Romaphobia. Its consequences include discrimination, long-term unemployment, lack of health care, difficult access to education or housing."

The Central Council of Roma in Poland commissioned the billboards. The implementation of the campaign is handled by Publicis Groupe brands: Publicis Worldwide Poland created the creative concept and strategy, while media was planned and bought by Spark Foundry.