‘Don’t Kill Granny’ – Why These Grandmothers Love The New Coronavirus Slogan
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As slogans go, “Don’t Kill Granny” is pretty blunt.
The catchphrase was born in Preston, Lancashire, to warn young people about the consequences of ignoring coronavirus social distancing rules – unwittingly taking the virus back home to vulnerable relatives and friends.
Preston became the latest city to be placed into partial lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus after a spike in cases.
Council chief executive Adrian Phillips described young people as being “among the brave and the bold” who want to “be adventurous and out and about”.
But he warned: “The community spread we are seeing, we believe in many cases [is from] young people taking it home and catching the virus.
“I know our director of public health has said ‘Don’t Kill Granny’ to young people to try and focus the message.”
While some people have labelled “Don’t Kill Granny” as crass and insensitive – particularly to those who have lost grandparents during the pandemic – others have praised it for its powerful message.
Many young people have lost elderly grandparents during this pandemic and are still grieving. Using the slogan #DontKillGranny is utterly vile and insensitive! I would have expected better from a Labour run council! @prestoncouncil@prestonlabour@MatthewBrownLab
— Callum Taylor 🎭🌍🌹🇪🇺 (@CallumTaylor95) August 8, 2020
I think that's the best slogan so far!! #DontKillGranny
— TaniaWren (@TaniaWren) August 8, 2020
Also, #dontkillgranny is a brilliant campaign angle.
It’s not blaming younger people; it’s warning them.
You might not like it and you don’t need to own it; but don’t discourage it.
And it’s a perfectly reasonable read of Adrian’s comment, which you’ve kindly reconfirmed.— Richard Slater (@LBVPublisher) August 9, 2020
But what does Granny think? HuffPost UK spoke to three grandmothers in Preston about the impact...
