Creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi has challenged prime minister Rishi Sunak’s recently-announced plans to make maths compulsory for all students up to 18 with a disruptive out-of-home activation.
Running across high-impact Central London sites such as the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street, the activation was launched in support of Saatchi & Saatchi’s latest ‘Upriser’ initiative, a free national schools scheme that offers young people an opportunity to explore a career in the marketing industry.
Featuring the tagline “Investing in creativity isn’t double maths” on a roving out-of-home van, the activation aims to remind Sunak that to truly invest in young people’s potential, they will need a more rounded curriculum and skillset than an excessively mathematical focus.
“As Britain wakes up to a tough year it’s commendable what the Prime Minister is trying to do with his educational mandate, but in our view it’s imperative that a brighter British future is unlocked by creative brains first and foremost,” Saatchi & Saatchi UK CEO, Chris Kay said.
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“Upriser can’t do this alone, but by partnering major companies with schools across the UK, it is a step in the right direction to help inspire the next generation of creative thinkers.”
As the van toured Parliament Square, the agency also aimed to highlight the chronic underfunding of the arts and creative industries by the Conservative government, despite generating an estimated £115 billion a year for the UK economy.
Saatchi & Saatchi UK managing director, Sarah Jenkins added: “It’s vital that we are also able to prioritise and fund creativity at school level to ensure the next generation of brilliant thinkers, makers and fixers are aware of and excited by the careers and opportunities that the creative industries offer.
“That’s what Upriser, our free, nationwide schools outreach programme is all about. We hope those who saw the van – and indeed, Mr Sunak, will consider getting involved.”
