WaterAid, an international not-for-profit organization, and London-based independent creative agency Don’t Panic teamed on this campaign centerpiece film, “First Cup,” shot in Zomba, Malawi, and directed by Anonymous Content’s Elena Petitti di Roreto with cultural direction from WaterAid’s Dennis Lupenga. Unusual in its approach, “First Cup” begins at the end. It tells the story of a village where the local community celebrates the newly completed borehole installed in partnership with WaterAid. Unlike many campaigns for the third sector, instead of showcasing the need, WaterAid and Don’t Panic chose to highlight the impact.
With funding from the Scottish Government International Development fund, Scottish Water and Northern Ireland Water employee fundraising, WaterAid reached this community with clean water in 2019. “First Cup” was inspired by the experiences and insight of community members in this project.
Screened across U.K. cinemas, TV and social, “First Cup” follows Lucia, a Malawian. As the chief of her community announces that they now have reliable access to clean water, for the first time , the crowd begins to celebrate, but Lucia quietly stands, her eyes focused on the metal cup, holding the ‘first cup’ of clean water. When the moment is right, she runs to the water pump, grabbing the cup as she passes. Safe from the gaze of the community, Lucia looks at the clean water–the first time she’s seen it, in her life. Rather than taking a sip, we see her carefully run through the countryside, past football players, dodging a moped in her town, across a rickety bridge to her grandmother, where she hands her the first cup; a woman who has spent her life without clean water so that she can be the first to drink it.
Rick Dodds, creative partner, Don’t Panic, said, “It’s hard, and not particularly just, to sit in a London office and write a script about a community you’ve never visited or talked to. As soon as we knew we would be working on this campaign, we decided to take a different approach. Ellie Moore (strategy partner) and I visited Zomba, Malawi, and met the communities there. We spent time hearing about their lives and getting to know them. This immersion influenced our ideas; a couple of months later with Anonymous Content’s Elena Petitti di Roreto, we filmed the script with the same communities of Zomba, Malawi.”
CreditsClient WaterAid Agency Don’t Panic Joe Wade, founder; Rick Dodds, creative partner; Ellie Moore, strategy & engagement partner; Georgia Stephenson, Rick Dodds and the communities of Zomba, Malawi, creatives; Jennifer Clare Houlihan, exec producer; Ani Bosco, jr. producer. Production Company Anonymous Content Elena Petitti Di Roreto, director; Tor Fitzwilliams, exec producer/managing director; Shion Hayasaka, head of production; Ella Sanderson, producer; Giuseppe Favale, DP. Production Services (Malawi) Ginger Ink Films Africa Guy Wilson, exec producer; Sharmila Elias, line manager; Rick Higgs, Steadicam operator. Editorial Francesco Roma, editor. Postproduction RM Jamie Noble, colorist; Tomas Katter, grade producer. Audio Sine Audio Frankie Beirne, sound designer; Julian Marshall, sound post producer. Music Darondo--Didn’t I? Music Supervision Curation Music Sunny Kapoor, music supervision
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More