British Heart Foundation (BHF) has extended its latest work with Saatchi & Saatchi UK by taking the stories of young football fans whose lives were tragically ended by heart disease to a global stage, bringing them to last week’s UEFA Euros 2024 closing soccer championship game in Berlin between England and Spain. The faces, names, and stories of those affected were projected near Olympiastadion in the German capital in front of thousands of spectators–ensuring each got to Berlin for the final of the Euros.
The imagery rotated between each of the young English football fans featured in the campaign across the weekend in the build-up to the final this past Sunday night. The work is part of the broader “‘Til I Died” campaign, which was created to emphasize the critical need for research funding by spotlighting those affected’s unfulfilled dreams and aspirations.
The poignant campaign, which launched in June ahead of the tournament, is built on the insight that the nation is largely unaware of the devastating effect heart disease has on young people, and aims to shift the perception of heart disease and raise awareness that it can strike anybody regardless of age.
In addition to the weekend’s activation, the campaign began with 12 individual murals hand-painted by OOH production agency Grand Visual, and media handled by PHD, in the hometowns of the 12 football fans, including Birmingham, Cardiff, Chesterfield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Southampton. The campaign extended across social and radio, with bespoke executions highlighting the urgency of research funding to end heart disease.
The choice to honor 12 individuals stemmed from the insight that 12 young lives are tragically lost to sudden cardiac death every single week in the U.K. Each of the young people depicted, all passionate football fans, had their promising futures cut short, leaving behind shattered dreams and unfulfilled aspirations.
This video sheds light on the British Heart Foundation campaign.
