Dawn Creative recently created a brand identity and accompanying website for Against the Odds, a campaign aiming to spark a movement across all levels of the sporting pyramid in Greater Manchester in support of phasing out gambling sponsorship and advertising in sport.

Around 1 in 15 Greater Manchester residents have been directly or indirectly harmed by gambling, and the promotion of gambling products through sport plays a significant role in normalising gambling and increasing harms. To ensure that the campaign would resonate with sports clubs and sports bettors, but also avoid any triggers for those harmed by gambling, Dawn Creative engaged with several different stakeholders through the concept creation process, and their input influenced creative decisions. Healthy Stadia and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) helped gather attendees, representing a local lived experience group, a counselling charity as well as key sports organisations from across Greater Manchester.

To create this brand identity, Dawn Creative looked at what the campaign was trying to achieve on the whole, and how they could reflect that with the associated brand elements. The fundamental values behind this campaign are protection, partnership, and pressure. Pressure that people feel from the advertisers was reflected in the David and Goliath style tension in size between the ‘Against’ and ‘the Odds’ text within the logo and typemark. The idea is that ordinary sports fans and sports clubs need to increase the pressure on sports organisations who choose to partner with gambling brands and ease the burden of responsibility on consumers.