New advertising and mobile phone campaign shows teenagers the best jobs they can get through taking science and maths The DCSF today (Friday 21 November) launched a new cinema advert and mobile phone promotion as part its multi million pound advertising campaign, encouraging teenagers to land themselves an enviable career in the future – by choosing to study science and maths at A level. The campaign will run in over 100 cinemas across England and is part of the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ Science and Maths campaign to encourage more teenagers to take science and mathematics subjects at A level.
The campaign builds on television, radio and digital advertising that went live this week focusing on challenging 11-16 years olds perceptions of the subjects by demonstrating the huge range of aspirational and rewarding jobs available via science and maths on the campaign website: www.scienceandmaths.net
The need for more children to take science and maths subjects at A level was highlighted by the CBI[1], who also identified that graduates with science or maths qualifications earned higher salaries compared with graduates across all sectors. The message for today’s students could not be clearer – choosing science or maths could help set up a highly rewarding and enjoyable career.
The mobile campaign showcases people working in jobs that will appeal to teenagers, as a result of choosing to stick with science or maths after the age of 16. Those featuring include a space technician, cosmetics specialist, sports equipment developer and penguin conservationist. Any cinema-goer with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile, visiting one of the cinemas taking part, will get the chance to view a short film on their mobile and get an insight into the lives of the young people featured. There is no charge to the viewer for watching the films on their mobile, and they’ll also be invited to visit the campaign’s website (www.scienceandmaths.net) to learn more about how they could follow in the footsteps of those who have gone into aspirational and rewarding jobs via science and maths.
One of the young people featured in the campaign, Simon Cooper, Computer Games Developer for Ubisoft, commented:
“Mobile phones are a great channel to get across the message to teenagers that science and maths can set them on course for an exciting career. Young people tend to associate those subjects with working in a lab, but my job as a computer games developer shows that’s not necessarily the case. It’s a clever idea to use the latest mobile phone technology to persuade this age group to consider a career involving technology, and should help dispel the myth that science and maths are not cool.”
The campaign will run until 14 December in all Vue and Cineworld cinemas and selected AMC cinemas across England. All of the ‘career professionals’ featuring in the cinema, radio, television, digital advertising and mobile phone free downloads can be viewed at www.scienceandmaths.net.
[1] CBI - five point plan to double the proportion of students taking these subjects, August 2007