Bully A Plant: Say No To Bullying | A Social experiment to raise awareness on the effects of bullying

Bullying is a problem which is prevalent. Be it schools, workplace, families, social media or the society at large. It persists. It has varying effects on the people who bully and who are bullied. The people who bully have a higher chance to engage in criminal activities. The people who are bullied suffer from fear, low self-esteem, etc. Sometimes they take extreme steps like suicide to end it. This is menace which needs to end.

IKEA came with an innovative Campaign to spread awareness on the issue. It wanted to showcase the negative effects of verbal bullying. The Campaign was named “Bully A Plant”. Two plants were taken and kept in GEMS Schools in UAE. There were pre-recorded audio messages played on each respective plant. One plant was subjected to negative or bullying messages. The other plant had positive messages and those full of praise. Students were also made a part of the initiative. Students helped by recording positive and negative comments.

This Campaign went on for a month. After that the results were as expected. The plant which was bullied started drooping. The plant which was being complimented started flourishing and grew beautifully. The effect was symbolic but understood. Just as plants are affected so are people. If people are bullied then they will show victimised behaviour. If people are supported then they will grow faster.

This initiative was created by IKEA to create happier communities. IKEA believes that happiness spreads by our treatment of each other.

We hope that the next sun rises without a single case of bullying.