How are words born? McCann's new campaign for Macquarie Dictionary shows us

MELBOURNE – October 8, 2013 – The birth of a word has been chronicled in A Word is Born, a short film by McCann Australia as its latest campaign for the country’s national dictionary, Macquarie Dictionary.

The star of the film is the word "phubbing," which was coined to describe the phenomenon of ignoring the person in front of you in favor of your smart phone.

The film shows the word’s journey, from its coinage at 4:22 p.m. on May 22, 2012, to its inclusion in global conversation.

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Since its creation by a team of language experts at the University of Sydney, "phubbing" has since reached over 300 million people, and has sparked global discussion on mobile phone etiquette.

The campaign is built on the idea that because of the continuous evolution of language, an updated dictionary is essential. The strategy was devised by McCann Australia executive creative director John Mescall, and group account director Adrian Mills in early 2012. The team who coined the word was recruited by Susan Butler, publisher and editor of Macquarie Dictionary.

The film’s release marks the launch of the sixth edition of Macquarie Dictionary. It can be viewed on YouTube.

According to Butler, "Over the years people have often asked me, ‘How does a word get into the dictionary?’ I explain that the word has to have some kind of acceptance in the community, an acceptance that seems to come immediately to some new words but is forever denied to others."

She added, "The rise of phubbing as an original coinage has been a wonderful illustration of the process by which my word becomes your word becomes our word until finally it is a word that belongs to us all."

Meanwhile, Mescall said, "A Word is Born is a love story about words, and how incredible they are."

"We live in a highly visual age, but I believe words still hold enormous power. Through this campaign, we want people to fall back in love with words, and the very idea of owning a dictionary," he said.

Mescall said that to their knowledge, the campaign is the first time the birth of a word–from inception to adoption–has been captured on film.

"We suspected this was a word the world needed and it’s been so gratifying to see the difference a single word has been able to make. Misuse of smart phones in social situations has been a problem for a while now, but it wasn’t until the world had a word to describe that behavior that people really started talking about the issue," he explained.

He added, "Our aim is twofold: help the world address a growing social problem, and at the same time, help the guys at the Macquarie Dictionary sell copies and subscriptions. Hopefully , it’s good for the dictionary and good for everyone."

The campaign kicked off on August 29, 2012 with the launch of the website www.stopphubbing.com. The website and accompanying Facebook page were presented as the brainchild of McCann account executive Alex Haigh, with the agency playing concept/asset developer.

Creative Credits:

Campaign

Executive Creative Director: John Mescall

Creative Director: Pat Baron

Copywriter: John Mescall

Art Director: Pat Baron

Group Account Director: Adrian Mills

Account Director: Alec Hussain

Account Executive: Alex Haigh

Strategy: John Mescall & Adrian Mills

Other contributors: Jake McLennan, Danielle Milazzo

A Word is Born, the Film