In these difficult times…
I’ve got nothing. Everyone else is starting all their copy with “in these difficult times…” so I thought I’d join in.
Wait! I’ve got one: In These Difficult Times, we’re seeing a lot of messages of hope and comfort from different brands and people in different areas of leadership. A lot of them are effective at various levels — it’s really refreshing how many communicators are recognizing that it’s okay to sit this one out if they don’t have anything to contribute, and the ones who do contribute contributions have been doing a pretty good job of staying encouraging, honest, relevant, and inoffensive.
One recent corporate statement, though, really stood out to me. It wasn’t slickly produced or smoothly acted, and it’s not even a brand I have any real connection to, but something about it really hit home. So today’s Caperton Gillett Creative Crisis Communication Award (CGCCCA) (which doesn’t actually exist) goes to… Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
(Sorry, I just love it. At my last agency, I insisted that my title be “Senior Copywriter by the Grace of God,” because YOU’RE WELCOME, essentially.)
Anyway, I’m far from being a royalist, but this video from the queen of England hit me right in the feels.
What makes this video so moving?
It shows real people.
So many corporate videos (and, let’s face it, that’s what this kind of is) these days use stock footage or dramatically lit models to convey the brave but bedraggled spirit of our essential workers. And I realize that it can be hard to put your hands on an actual ICU nurse these days, and sometimes a model is all you’ve got. But this? This none-too-artfully shot footage of healthcare workers and delivery people and volunteers going about their regular, taxing, nondramatic work? It’s powerful. It’s real. It’s the world we live in, during a difficult time to live in it.
It’s about real people.
“I also want to thank those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones.” That’s the thing. That’s why the people who are staying home — some while losing money, some while testing familial bonds, some enduring things more difficult than that — are doing it. We’re not supposed to stay home because we’re being told to, or even to “flatten the curve.” We’re supposed to do it to protect people. And while #StayHome and #FlattenTheCurve make better hashtags, stating the real purpose so clearly, putting the impact of this frustrating confinement right out there, makes the point in a way few other messaging strategies can. This is about people — us, vulnerable people, and people who have suffered loss. People.
Also, “I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.” That is an extremely English way of saying, “Someday, you’re going to look back and regret all your bullshit.”
It’s also about unity.
By characterizing the UK’s COVID-19 response as a matter of “national spirit,” the queen brings all citizens together through the one thing they have in common: citizenship. And she doesn’t make it about exceptionalism, or uniqueness, or superiority — she makes it about compassion. “Being British” becomes a matter of helping others, encouraging others, and just staying home — all positive, generous, other-centric things. A moment that could become jingoistic is instead inspiring. And of course that isn’t enough to just eliminate any of the self-protective or straight-up bigoted tendencies some people have that put walls between us, but it places those tendencies outside of an acceptable frame. You can be an asshole, but if you are, you’re not one of us.
That message of unity is also something that can bring people together during this period of isolation — doing something for others, whether it’s fetching groceries for a vulnerable neighbor or just staying home, can be a way of feeling closer to people when you can’t actually be close to them.
It doesn’t make promises.
Because what promises could it make? We don’t know when this is going to end. We don’t know when effective treatments are going to become available. We don’t know when we’re going to be able to get back to our regular lives, or to what extent our new lives are going to resemble our regular lives anyway. The queen doesn’t even drop any platitudes like “We’re going to be okay,” because we don’t actually know that. All she says is, “While we may have more still to endure, better days will return,” because that, at least, is inevitable. We don’t know how much more we’ll have to endure, and we don’t know when better days will return, but they will. Holding people’s trust means not saying things you can’t follow through on, and refraining from saying something encouraging but meaningless is a strong choice.
“We will meet again.”
… No, shut up, you’re crying.
Her dress is thoroughly memeable.
I also have to give Her Majesty props for wearing chroma key green in her video. In These Difficult Times, that’s the kind of spirit-lifting gift a troubled nation really needs.
(I’m sorry, Your Majesty. No disrespect intended.)
So if you’re feeling let down by the lack of unity and encouragement coming from our own heads of state, it’s perfectly fine to borrow someone else’s. And if you’re looking to share some unity and encouragement of your own, this video is a great example to look to.
Except maybe wear blue. Everyone looks good in blue.