Dyslexia Canada Commandeers the Popularity of Wordle to Raise Awareness of Word Struggles

Toronto, Canada (May 16, 2022) – For many Canadians, word challenges like crossword puzzles, crypto quotes, or jumbles are fun pastimes that help get the mind going each morning. But for millions of Canadians with dyslexia, there is nothing fun about struggling with words.

To draw attention to the struggles faced by those with dyslexia, Dyslexia Canada and dentsumcgarrybowen (dentsuMB) created the Trouble with Words campaign to leverage the popularity of Wordle, 2022’s latest word craze.

The multimedia campaign includes a website that uses misspelled URLs like wordel.ca, wordill.ca, and others, to redirect gamers to learn more about dyslexia, banner, and social ads with hard-to-read 30-character headlines that fit the 5 X 6 Wordle game grid, an impact newspaper campaign, and radio that speaks to troubling words faced by those with dyslexia like: lazy, stupid, and poverty among others. All of the assets drive towards itshardtoread.org, an immersive experiential website that sensitizes Canadians to what it’s like to live with a reading challenge.

“We saw an opportunity to leverage the popularity of a daily word game to raise awareness about the daily word challenges faced by those with dyslexia[CS1] ,” says Michael Aronson, Executive Creative Director at dentsuMB. “We are always looking to amplify the good work done by the people at Dyslexia Canada.”

“The campaign brings to light the challenges faced by 750,000 Canadian children and their families, engaging Canada in a long-overdue conversation about the needs of those with dyslexia,” adds Christine Staley, Executive Director, Dyslexia Canada.“dentsu helps us spread our message even further, through smart, culturally resonant marketing.”

The partnership between Dyslexia Canada and dentsumcgarrybowen continues to thrive after last year’s It’s Hard to Read campaign gained national and international attention with the creation of the World’s Hardest-to-Read Website.

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For More Information

Kate Dobrucki | VP, Communications| Dentsu Canada

416-347-3059| Kate.dobrucki@dentsu.com

About dentsu international

Part of dentsu, dentsu international helps clients to win, keep and grow their best customers and achieve meaningful progress for their businesses. With best-in-class services and solutions in media, CXM, and creative, dentsu international operates in over 145 markets worldwide with more than 46,000 dedicated specialists. www.dentsu.com

About Dyslexia Canada

Dyslexia Canada is a national charity committed to ensuring that every child in Canada with dyslexia gets a fair and equitable education. Dyslexia Canada was formed in 2016 as a way to ensure that there was a national voice and forum to advocate for all Canadian children with dyslexia.  By partnering with professional organizations, experts and advocates, Dyslexia Canada strives to drive systemic change by engaging and educating the public and establishing legislation specific to recognizing and remediating dyslexia. www.dyslexiacanada.org