Challenge 

One in five people have dyslexia and 40% of children with learning disabilities experience mental health problems. Over 750k Canadian students are Dyslexic, however, Canada lacks the tools necessary to provide solutions to the issue. To create awareness for the issue, teams worked together to make the world's hardest to read website: https://itshardtoread.org/ and adopted the slogan “When you’re dyslexic, no story is simple.”

Solution 

To highlight the difficulties children with dyslexia face every day, dentsu mcgarrybowen crafted a website and a campaign based on popular children’s books to give people a sense of what it’s like to live with this learning disability. The immersive, educational experience demonstrates what it’s like to live with dyslexia with each topic presenting a different reading challenge to educate Canadians about the cause and, most importantly, build empathy.  The campaign also re-wrote three popular children’s tales: Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs. The retellings were featured in print, OOH, social in addition to reimagining the tales as audio content to drive traffic to the website.  

Results 

Created for the charity, Dyslexia Canada, “It’s Hard to Read” aimed to sensitize and educate the public while directing children and families living with dyslexia to the resources Dyslexia Canada provides to help support those with this learning disability. Finally, dyslexia is receiving the attention it deserves. The campaign resulted in making headlines across Canada and the world and bringing much-needed awareness to a crucial cause.