Artist

SAM RYDER

Agency

PIA NORDPOL

Purpose

There is a lack of disability visibility in mainstream and pop culture. Many brands, shows, and campaigns discuss disabilities and use them to promote their brands, rather than giving the community the spotlight. Our goal was to give OB an emotional voice in pop culture, direct media attention to the disability community, and share their stories and create visibility in mainstream media. We aimed to find the best possible stage to create an impact by sharing the stories of thousands of people with disabilities.

Approach

We launched the #IAmAMountain campaign, which was created from real user-generated content (UGC) showing what people with disabilities are capable of and allowing them to define what disability looks like. We teamed up with an international superstar artist, Sam Ryder, as a pop culture ambassador. Inspired by interactions with the OB community, Sam created the new community brand song “Mountain,” which was released on music streaming platforms and featured on Sam’s latest studio album.

Together, we created a significant moment in pop culture: for the first time, people with disabilities were on stage during prime time, in front of millions of viewers. The song “Mountain” celebrates the strengths of people with disabilities and was performed on the world’s largest stage where the societal impact is greatest: the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). The performance featured 12 performers with disabilities and Queen legend Roger Taylor on the drums, making it a viral hit. Users shared their mountain stories, empowered by OB, with the song written by Sam Ryder and brought to life by the community.