Microsoft - "ADLaM"

McCann New York

McCann New York New York, United States

Awards

4427

This ad is part of the ACT Responsible Collection

Brand: Microsoft
Country: United States

Advertiser: Microsoft

Title	ADLaM
Brief	To help preserve the Pulaar language — and help fight illiteracy within the community — we worked with the Barry brothers to rebuild ADLaM for the digital age and put it in the hands of the 60 million Fulani across the globe connecting through technology.While alphabets usually take hundreds of years to evolve into their final form, we were able to speed the process, using real-time community feedback to revise ADLaM’s outdated letterforms.Taking inspiration from Fulani visual culture, we researched hundreds of traditional textile patterns and designs, uncovering their unique meanings to define the final form of the characters. By weaving their heritage into the solution, the Fulani saw themselves in their very own alphabet.This new version of the alphabet is being made accessible on over one billion devices around the world, enhancing the Fulani’s access to educational, business and social tools—ensuring both the language and culture ADLaM represents live on for generations.
Agency	McCann New York
Campaign	ADLaM
Advertiser	Microsoft
Brand	Microsoft
Date of First Broadcast/Publication	2023 / 4
Business Sector	IT Solutions & Professional Networks
Story	A new alphabet for an ancient people promises to preserve their culture and connect their community.
Philosophy	The language of the Fulani people of West Africa, known as Pulaar, is spoken by over 40 million people, so it’s not in immediate danger. However, for most of its history, Pulaar never had an alphabet. Fulani are increasingly doing business, finding information, and expressing themselves via text on mobile devices. And if they can’t communicate digitally with an alphabet that reflects the language they speak, they will use other writing systems, and one day, other languages. For languages that have no digital script, the writing is on the wall. Thirty years ago, two Fulani brothers took it upon themselves to reverse this inevitability. They created an alphabet that would one day spread across the global Fulani community and beyond. It would come to be known as ADLaM, an acronym using the alphabet’s first four letters, which stands for Alkule Dandayɗe Leñol Mulugol, or “the alphabet that protects the people from vanishing.”
Problem	What does it mean to lose a language? Deep knowledge, passed down over millennia—gone. Ways of thinking about the land, the sea, the sky, and the flora and fauna that inhabit them. Rituals and recipes. Myths and memories, erased. And for those who spoke the language, it means losing a part of themselves.
Media Type	Digital
Length	132 seconds
Music	Human
Advertising Manager	Kathleen Hall
Advertising Manager	Carol Phillips Hutchinson
Advertising Manager	Steve Simmons
Advertising Manager	Hannah Westing
Advertising Manager	Lori Gross
Client Global Creative Director	Sven Seger
Client Senior Creative Director	Phyllis Murphy
Client Creative Director	Steve Foyle
Advertising Manager	Karina Reck
Advertising Manager	Aleksey Federov
Advertising Manager	Krystofer Glover
Advertising Manager	Shyla Lindsey
Producer	Kaity Butcher
Strategist	Steve Wiens
Advertising Manager	Si Daniels
Advertising Manager	Andrew Glass
Regional Chief Creative Officer	Sean Bryan
Chief Creative Officer	Shayne Millington
Chief Creative Officer	Pierre Lipton
EVP, Global Executive Creative Director	Cristina Reina
EVP, Global Executive Creative Director	Pete Johnson
EVP, Head of Design	Matt Van Leeuwen
Design Director	Mook Phoungbut
Designer	Chocho Han
Designer	Malik Dupree
Senior Creative technologist	Alicia Foor
Senior Art Director	Mikey Bready
Senior Copywriter	Sarah Wagner
Associate Creative Director / Art Director	Kazuo Kubo
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter	Lucas Ribeiro
Group Creative Director/Art Director	Guilherme Racz
Group Creative Director / Copywriter	Lucas Casão
EVP, Chief Production Officer	Aaron Kovan
SVP, Executive Integrated Producer	Stacy Flaum
Senior Integrated Producer	MJ Soler
Senior Integrated Producer	Jory Sutton
Junior Producer	Travae Davis
Videographer	Katie Henry
Senior Music Producer	Colleen Dahlstrom
Junior Music Producer	Madison Rowe
Chief Strategy Officer	Erica Yahr
VP Strategy Director	Amadeo Plaza
Associate Strategist	Kyla Jackson
Post Production	Craft NY
Director	Jean Didi
Director/Photographer	Andrew Zeitner
Photographer	Khadija Farah
Announcer	Sahlima
Creator	Ibrahima Barry
Creator	Abdoulaye Barry
Typeface Design	Mark Jamra
Typeface Design	Neil Patel
Typeface Design	Andrew Fotit
Textile Expert	Duncan Clarke