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Speedo has launched a brand platform aimed at breaking down the barriers to swimming faced by many families in the UK.

The "Swim united" campaign was inspired by the finding that only 42% of children going to school in the most deprived areas of the country are able to swim, compared with 86% in the least deprived areas.

A series of "Swim stories" celebrates the joy of swimming as experienced by three real families not typically represented in the swimming community. The films by Livity were directed by Jess Kohl through Prettybird.

"Remi" follows the story of a mother of Caribbean descent who reflects on the uniqueness of her childhood spent swimming at Brixton's leisure centre. Having grown up in a community where swimming is a novelty, she expresses the joy of passing on that love of swimming to her daughter.

"Cathy" is the story of a single mother to two young children with dwarfism, who are appreciating the moments of joy and physical connection the buoyancy of the water allows them to share.

The final story follows "Niran", a father, whose Keralan ancestry didn't prioritise swimming. He is now overcoming his fear of swimming by sharing in his daughter's joy of the water.

Livity helped Speedo to better engage with marginalised and underrepresented communities. The storytelling was developed through working closely with Rani Patel, Livity's director of cultural collaborations.

The swimwear brand has developed a "Swim united" programme to engage with schools in London, helping young swimmers build much-needed confidence and skills in and around the water.

Speedo will engage 35 schools across London's most socially and economically disadvantaged areas, providing activity packs and intensive two-week swimming courses for 1,200 students, with the overarching aim of making swimming more equitable.

Created in partnership with Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) and with the support of Black Swimming Association (BSA), "Swim united" is a long-term commitment developed in response to research from Sport England and the BSA that found children from marginalised communities and minority groups are at a disadvantage when it comes to learning to swim at primary school. It was deemed important to act now as research also revealed that 532,000 children from ethnically diverse communities have missed out on swimming lessons due to the pandemic.

Media for the campaign is being handled by MediaCom and is a mixture of paid, owned and earned. The hero film released in January and swim story assets will be published across YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, and will also be using its owned channels.

Kev McFadyen, global brand director at Speedo, said: ​​"In order to truly challenge the societal and cultural barriers that prevent some communities from learning to swim, we knew we needed an agency partner that deeply understood the communities we wanted to reach, and that knew how Speedo could play a meaningful role.

"Livity is unique in this sense, and 'Swim united' is the outcome of a truly collaborative and purpose-driven partnership that also extended to organisations such as the BSA and GLL."

Alex Goat, chief executive of Livity, added: "Speedo is widely renowned as the leading consumer brand in swimming and, as such, knew it had a responsibility to spread the message that swimming truly is for everyone. Beyond sparking a conversation, 'Swim united' platform has the power to make a tangible difference to children, and parents, across a number of marginalised groups."