STAMMA uses empty billboards to deliver a powerful message about listening

In a world where outdoor advertising is often defined by bold visuals, crowded messaging, and a fight for attention, STAMMA has taken the opposite approach. The UK’s leading charity for people who stammer has launched a striking OOH campaign that says more by showing less. 

Created by Iris London and supported by pro bono media from JCDecaux, the campaign, titled “Leave Space,” has rolled out across key UK cities including Manchester and Liverpool. Its objective is simple yet profound: encourage people to give those who stammer the time and space they need to speak. 

The campaign is built on a sobering insight. According to STAMMA, 14% of people who stammer were hung up on during their most recent call to an organisation. In everyday conversations, pauses are often perceived as awkward silences that need to be filled. For people who stammer, however, those pauses are not empty moments—they are an essential part of communication. 

To bring this idea to life, the campaign turns one of advertising’s most valuable assets—space—into its central creative device. 

The billboards appear almost entirely blank, featuring only two lines of copy positioned at opposite corners: 

“Not every space needs to be filled.” 

“Give people who stammer time to speak.” 

The vast empty canvas immediately stands out within busy transit environments where audiences are conditioned to expect every inch of advertising space to be occupied. The silence within the creative mirrors the silence people should allow in real conversations. 

Rather than demanding attention through scale or spectacle, the campaign relies on restraint. By leaving the majority of the billboard empty, STAMMA transforms absence into a message, encouraging viewers to pause, reflect, and reconsider their own behaviour.