The Or Projects
The Or projects are ad-hoc creative ventures and partnerships born from passions, causes, and at times, pure silliness.
They allow us to collaborate as a team to pursue activations that interest us, whilst building on our reputation for shaking things up.
The Vagina Museum
Neighbours
Celebrating the arrival of vaginas in Bethnal Green
WHAT WENT DOWN
In March 2022, The Vagina Museum, the world’s first museum dedicated to vaginas, vulvas, and gynae anatomy, opened its doors at its new premises in Bethnal Green. To announce its arrival, we launched a provocative localised OOH campaign called ‘Neighbours’.
Enter 16 eye-catching, statement-led posters that drew parallels between local establishments and the museum, as well as playing on anatomical knowledge and the values of the museum itself. Cheeky, smart and beautifully designed, the campaign was plastered across the Bethnal Green area, using humour and local landmarks to extinguish the stigma associated with gynae anatomy.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
The campaign transcended advertising, becoming art that people bought. Within 10 days, profits from the sale of the posters hit over £2k, which went directly back into the museum.
The campaign led to a 44% increase in website visits. In fact, 61.3% of all visitors in March stated that they visited the museum because of the advertising alone. Mission complete.
The Big Bean
It’s just a big bean
WHAT WENT DOWN
Two of The Or creatives, Tom and Dylan, spent their weekend making a giant baked bean. Made from two tins of regular-sized beans, the bean was posted on Reddit, and then the bean got even bigger.
The bean racked up over 4M views on the original Reddit post and 180K likes on TikTok, with people sharing the images across Twitter and Instagram.
It gained international coverage, featuring in publications like The Independent, Metro and the New York Post. It was even discussed on the Stephen Colbert show in the US.
It was one weird week in the office.
The Fantastic Plastic Foot Shoes
Bringing millennial fashion dreams to life
WHAT WENT DOWN
During the summer of 2023, the world was gearing up for the release of a certain blockbuster featuring an iconic blonde doll. Any guesses?
To celebrate this major movie moment, we created The Fantastic Plastic Foot Shoes, taking the iconic tip-toed foot of a much-loved doll and turning it into a wearable high-heel.
We put the shoes up for auction via its very own website, allowing fashionistas worldwide to bid for a bespoke pair of their very own Fantastic Plastic Foot Shoes.
The campaign claimed Campaign Magazine’s Ad of the Day and caught the eye of several drag queens and footwear junkies.
Anything’s Commemorative
Giving the British public the chance to get coronation-ready
WHAT WENT DOWN
As a nation, we celebrate royal occasions with commemorative trinkets like mugs, plates and limited-edition coins. But it’s just so 1953. For the 2023 Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort, we wanted to branch out from decorative china.
Enter ‘Anything’s Commemorative’. A sticker pack which allowed the nation to adorn everyday objects with royal iconography, giving all kinds of items the chance to become coronation-ready.
Through a dedicated website, people could order their own sticker packs. We received orders from across the UK (alongside a punter in New Zealand), from those wishing to ring in the coronation in their own commemorative fashion.
Warm Flags
Keeping fans warm during a winter World Cup.
WHAT WENT DOWN
In 2022, we were graced with a winter World Cup. So whilst the players persevered under blazing sunshine in Qatar, supporters were braving the cold to cheer on their teams back at home.
Enter Warm Flags.
Purpose-designed by The Or and designer Molly Sellars, so fans could celebrate like they normally would in summer (probably naked) but with a little extra warmth.
The flags were as warm as a puffa jacket, completely waterproof and stress tested against flying beer. For the shoot, directed by Aria Shahrokhshahi, we casted authentic England fans and captured stories of their most dedicated fans’ pursuits, creating a written narrative alongside the images.
We teamed up with Art Of Football to run a flag giveaway on their platform, resulting in their most successful giveaway to date.
Warmest Wishes from The Or
Giving the gift of warmth
WHAT WENT DOWN
Christmas 2022 was a festive season tainted by the cost of living crisis and rising energy bills. Cheery indeed.
Enter ‘Warmest of Wishes’. A Christmas card designed to have a genuine use when heating bills were hitting an all-time high. Made from wood, the card doubled as useable firewood that people could pop on their fireplace to keep warm.
The card’s design took inspiration from traditional Victorian typography, because worrying about heating your home felt like something from a Dickens novel, not 21st Century England.
The Brexit Christmas Ration Pack
Using dark humour to raise awareness of Christmas hardship
WHAT WENT DOWN
Ah, Christmas 2021. The year in which the festive season was hit hard by Brexit-related food shortages. How Christmassy.
Enter the ‘Brexit Christmas Ration Pack’. A tongue-in-cheek stocking filled with a single potato, tinned turkey, a tiny bottle of wine, a bottle of British sewage-tainted ‘drinking’ water (NOT for drinking), a mini jerry can of petrol, a single candle and a match to combat rising energy prices.
We ‘sold’ the ration packs online, but instead of being able to get your hands on your own, you were instead directed to make a donation to food bank charity, The Trussell Trust. The Brexit Christmas Ration Pack aimed at highlighting how despite all the shortages, and how they may have inconvenienced some of us, the reality for many Brits would be far worse – being left with nothing on Christmas Day.