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Hello Creative Souls,

Great advertising sometimes behaves less like communication and more like art. It hits you in the gut first, then justifies itself later. Fabric of England Video Campaign does exactly that. Instead of arguing against racism with stats and statements, it turns a national team shirt into a physical, wearable proof that modern England is built on migration.

Watch the video below in full to experience the wonderful piece of communication (art)

The Gist: After the racist abuse aimed at England’s Black players post-Euro 2021, McCann London and Show Racism the Red Card didn’t respond with outrage or lectures. They built a shirt stitched from 14 different national kits, each panel representing the heritage of England’s players. One object, one message: this team is literally made of the world.

The Move: What They Actually Did

• Mapped the heritage of 39 England players involved in World Cup qualification

• Selected 14 national team kits that reflected that ancestry

• Handcrafted 11 patchwork “Fabric of England” shirts from those kits

• Put the shirts into TV coverage, schools, and grassroots football as education tools and conversation starters

No VO. No manifesto. The shirt itself became the ad, the stat sheet, and the protest.

Why It Works (Beyond “Nice Idea”)

1. It expresses, not explains
The campaign doesn’t say “England is multicultural.” You feel it. The mix of colors, flags, and fabrics turns an abstract talking point into something undeniable and emotional.

2. The object is the media plan
Because it’s a real, crafted shirt, it travels everywhere: pundit desks, classrooms, kids’ training sessions, exhibitions. One artefact, many touchpoints.

3. Data becomes texture, not a slide
“39 players, 14 heritages” in a deck is forgettable. Cut into panels and stitched into a shirt, those numbers become human. You’re not reading inclusion; you’re looking at it.

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Steal This: Two Frameworks for Your Next Brief

Framework 1: Data → Artefact

Use this anytime you’re tempted to make “another case film with graphs.”

1. List your 3–5 key stats about your community, users, or product.

2. Give each stat a visual rule: color, material, size, pattern, quantity.

3. Combine those rules into one physical object – shirt, ticket, map, menu, packaging, flag.

4. Ask: If someone saw this object with no explanation, would they sense the idea?

If yes, you’re in Fabric territory.

Framework 2: Object-as-Teacher

Design something that can walk into a room and do the talking for you.

Your object should:

• Communicate the core idea in under 10 seconds from a distance

• Work in at least 3 contexts (broadcast, in-store, classroom, event)

• Have layers: something obvious at first glance, something new when you look closer

Think less “campaign asset”, more “portable installation”.

10-Minute Exercise

For your brand / client / side project:

1. Pick one brief around identity, community, or inclusion.

2. Complete this sentence:

3. Now constrain yourself:

4. Write 3 rough ideas. Don’t chase perfection; chase a thing that can exist.

One of those ideas will be your version of a Fabric-of-[Your World].

One Line to Remember

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.

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