Child Poverty Action Group, a charity campaigning for an end to child poverty in the U.K., has launched a campaign created by agency Creature London, which includes this TV and cinema spot featuring a child who sees his classmates enjoying a feast in the school lunchroom. Their lunchboxes are overflowing–with mountains of fruit, a tower of hamburgers, endless popcorn and doughnuts appearing like magic–as we hear the song, “Food, Glorious Food” in the background (written by Lionel Bart for the show and film Oliver! and re-recorded by Wake the Town and performed by CW Jones and Aaron Williams).
But when our hero protagonist opens his lunchbox, it is empty. He goes through the pantomime of eating, at which point a supered message appears which reads: “Some kids only have their imaginations to feed them.”
That’s the sad reality facing some 4.2 million children living in poverty in the U.K.
Directed by Adam Berg via production house SMUGGLER, this public service film titled “Imagine” looks to raise awareness of the hunger issue. Ben Middleton, chief creative officer at Creature London, said, “Hearing stories of children eating erasers because they are so hungry is something that I won’t forget anytime soon, but it has been a privilege to spend time in the imagination of children. It is a potent tool that should be reserved only for the magical, marvelous, and downright bizarre, not the mundane.”
Meg Egan, sr. creative at Creature London, said, “This campaign brings a child’s imagination to life in all its wonder and then confronts our audience with the shocking realities one in four children face. It has to be one of the most brilliant and also most brutal campaigns that I have ever worked on here at Creature, and we are incredibly proud of it.”
CreditsClient Child Poverty Action Group Alison Garnham, CEO; Sara Ogilvie, director of policy, rights and advocacy; Katie Taylor, interim director of policy, rights & advocacy; Naomi Jessop, director of business; Bea Pitel, campaign lead; Lizzie Flew, communications and campaigns manager. Agency Creature London Ben Middleton, Stu Outhwite-Noel, chief creative officers; Meg Egan, sr. creative; Tim Green, head of design; Flo Levane, sr. designer; Andrew Gibson, chief strategy officer; Flora Joll, strategy director; Kristie Girvan, head of integrated production; Niko Browne, integrated producer. Production Company SMUGGLER Adam Berg, director; Ben Croker, producer; Christabelle Stone, production manager; Tony Fernandez, 1st AD; Tim Maurice-Jones, DP; Chris Oddy, production designer. SFX Machine Shop Elaine Ngan, food stylist; Selina Wong, wardrobe stylist; Michele Baylis, hair & makeup. Editorial Trim Paul Hardcastle, editor. VFX Blacksmith NYC. Sound Design Factory UK Deborah Whitfield, head of production/exec producer; Josh Campbell, sound engineer; Ethan Day, jr. audio producer. Online Creative Outpost Music Licensing Major Tom -Jacob Wheeler; "Food, Glorious Food," Wake the Town, David Bass @ Wake the Town Ltd., re-record; CW Jones, Aaron Williams, performers; Aaron Williams, producer.
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