Pearson, the global learning company, has launched a new campaign for the Pearson Test of English (PTE) to promote its fairer evaluation system. The initiative highlights how unconscious biases linked to appearance, accent, and looks can affect English test scores. The campaign focuses on PTE’s unique, unbiased system, powered by responsible AI and language experts, offering a fairer approach to testing.
The campaign, featuring brand ambassador Vicky Kaushal, underscores how such biases can influence people’s opportunities, particularly in global mobility. Insights from a PTE survey shed light on how ingrained stereotypes can negatively impact individuals, especially in high-stakes environments.
The campaign's brand film showcases the journey of three test takers, emphasising how judgments based on looks, accents, and appearances affect confidence. It depicts a girl with red highlights at a bus stop, a Sikh boy practising pronunciation, and a professional hiding tattoos. The second part of the film illustrates how these individuals excel in their PTE test, highlighting the fairness of the test, which eliminates face-to-face interviews and accommodates over 125 accents.
Rachel Exton, Vice President of Marketing at Pearson, comments, “Unconscious bias is often deeply ingrained in our society, and can impact people’s futures in ways they may not even recognize. These experiences exist even in the English proficiency space, especially in a diverse country like India where cultures, accent, attire and looks change every few kilometers, where innumerable nuances of class dynamics are intricately ingrained in the social fabric. None of these factors, however, determine how proficient one is in the English language. And that’s exactly what we at PTE stand for and are trying to take to our audience through the #PTEforFairness campaign.”
In addition to the brand film, PTE has created 20-second short films featuring Vicky Kaushal. In these, he acts as a supportive guide, encouraging the individuals in the film to embrace their unique qualities and accents while taking the PTE. Kaushal reminds viewers of the hashtag #PTEKarBefikar, emphasising the worry-free test experience offered by PTE.
The campaign was conceptualised by creative agency VMLY&R, which also worked on PTE’s previous #PTEKarBefikar initiative featuring Kaushal.
