This Campaign Breaks Down Taboos with a Game of Dominos

‘Liming with Gran’ is a new campaign from creative agency Ketchum, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge & Genomics England, which seeks to break down the barriers many in the Caribbean community face when it comes to discussing health and wellbeing. 

What’s Liming, you ask? It’s a well-known social pastime, loved by Caribbean communities, hanging out with family and friends and enjoying the time spent together. And what better way to prompt these taboo health conversations than with another much-loved Caribbean pastime, dominoes. But, not just any set of dominoes, a bespoke, handcrafted box full of beautiful pieces.  

The campaign features a short film, shot by award winning director Tom Day (Adidas No More Red & Netflix’s Battle of the Baddest) and fronted by Liv Little (author and founder of Gal-dem) and stars the special relationship between grandmother, Jean, 84, who came to the UK from Jamaica in 1960, and her grandson, Tre, 29. The film spotlights the special bond between these two generations, as they are seen liming by playing with a uniquely designed set of dominoes, containing topics of conversation surrounding health and wellbeing. 

'Liming with Gran’ film will be premiered on the big screen at the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel, London during October’s Black History month. And then across all social platforms. 

Twenty sets of the dominoes featured in the film have been created, with six different colour ways featuring earthy oranges and reds from swatches of UK Caribbean homes in the '40s and '50s, and blues and greens representing the ocean and land of the Caribbean motherland. The typeface on the dominoes is inspired by the iconic lettering on the HMT Empire Windrush ship.  

Each domino took 20 minutes of work and with 28 dominoes in a set, and 20 sets made, that’s over 186 hours of handcrafted work.  

The sets are being distributed across the UK to barber shops, community centres, cafes and churches. They are also being given to academics and scientists at the Kavli Centre for Ethics and Science in Cambridge including a PhD student in her research for sickle cell within the Caribbean community.  A set has already been sent out to Kingston, Jamaica for families to lime with. 

The campaign is also supported with an outdoor digital advertising campaign in communities across the UK with a heavy concentration of those from Caribbean heritage. 

Tre said of the campaign, “I aspire to inspire, and I hope there are young kids or elders who watch this and feel like they can approach these topics. I am really close to my grandmother and visit her regularly, so knowing that I can open up and ask these questions is really valuable. I want others to feel comfortable to talk to each other while still loving each other’s company and spending quality time together.”

Jean said of the campaign, “When we talk about the difficult topics that we have shied away from for generations, magic can happen. We can start to not only understand ourselves better, but we can use that to support our future generations to live healthier and happier lives too. Being a part of this project with my grandson was such a special experience, one that I will treasure forever. I hope that this project inspires many more to open up and speak about the taboo topics. These are the conversations that are so worthwhile to have.”

Prof Anna Middleton, University of Cambridge said, “Genetics links us to our relatives, and genetic medicine serves whole families. Scientists and doctors will often talk about genetics using technical, scientific concepts. But even the word ‘genetics’ puts many everyday people off. Using prompts on the domino pieces, Ketchum's game encourages families to talk about inherited traits with no technical language needed. The domino game provides a mechanism to share family knowledge about hereditary conditions. Liming with Gran and the Only Human initiative aims to improve awareness and find new ways to discuss genetics. Making health information relevant, relatable and accessible helps communities and individuals. Genomic Medicine is sweeping across the NHS, and it's time to democratise conversations about genetics so everyone can have a voice about the services on offer”.

Liv Little said, “These topics and conversations can feel big and scary to many, but we need to be open about our health and wellbeing and be informed of the conditions that could be hereditary to see what preventative measures we can take. We wanted to break down the barriers to good health by showing, not just telling, of the positive and real benefits that come when you open up. From my own experience, when my dad was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, having these conversations felt intense and overwhelming. So, having a discussion in a less formal setting, such as liming, is a beautiful and less daunting way to approach a seemingly scary and perhaps uncomfortable topic.”

Indy Selvarajah, chief creative officer, Ketchum said, “This is a hugely important issue that isn’t being talked about, particularly in the Caribbean community, so we needed to find an interesting and effective way to get the conversation going. What better way to break the taboo than with a fierce game of (beautifully designed) dominoes.”