There are few cartoons as synonymous with the sentimentality of Valentine’s Day as the ‘Love Is’ cartoons. The quirky cartoons are a shorthand for the little things and unique moments that make love so special.

Engine Creative used the familiarity and comfort of these classic cartoons to deliver a hard-hitting message for Women’s Aid. Instead of telling people what ‘Love Is’ the cartoon’s classic style is brilliantly employed to communicate what 'Love Is Not’.

The campaign’s simplicity brings to life the pain of coercive control. While a successful Women’s Aid campaign made coercive control illegal in December 2015, records of offences have been steadily rising. 

Police recorded 24,856 coercive control offences in England and Wales in the year ending March 2020, a huge rise of more than 50% from the 16,679 recorded the previous year. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem. Within the first two weeks of lockdown alone, there was a 41% increase in users visiting the Women’s Aid Live Chat site to seek help on the issue. 

Research by Women’s Aid and Cosmopolitan in 2019 found that over a third of teenage girls had been in abusive relationships and more shocking still when the remaining two-thirds were asked about their relationships, 64% had been in abusive relationships without even realising it.

Agency positioning statements can often come to life in little more than PowerPoint presentations. Yet this campaign powerfully brings to life Engine Creative’s ‘Truth and Friction’ creative philosophy. The truth in the campaign is the painful reality that many people still mistake controlling behaviours in their relationships for love. While the friction is delivered by successfully subverting the norms of Valentine’s Day; choosing a beloved, comforting cartoon to deliver a difficult message. 

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, explained: “This campaign helps spread the vital message that many behaviours commonly perceived to be romantic – such as jealousy, demanding constant contact, and somebody wanting you all to themselves – are actually dangerous. Domestic abuse isn’t just physical: perpetrators use controlling behaviour to make a person dependent by isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence and regulating their everyday behaviour. Coercive control creates invisible chains and a sense of fear that pervades all elements of a survivor’s life. Women’s Aid will challenge this abuse, help survivors recognise it, and continue to transform the lives of so many women.”

Creative Director, Christopher Ringsell of Engine Creative, added: “These playful but hard-hitting executions illustrate what love is not…After all, love does not mean repeatedly putting you down, telling you they’d die without you, or controlling where you are. We were honoured to bring the iconic ‘Love is…’ illustrative brand back this Valentine’s Day, but with a new twist. These cartoons have been adored for decades; by subverting them, we are able to provide a simple way to educate audiences about coercive control.”