When we were awarded Age UK’s Christmas campaign back in May, we already knew Christmas 2022 would be like no other. With the deepening cost-of-living crisis and a once- in-a-generation winter World Cup, competing for our audience’s attention was going to be harder than ever before.
But with so many lonely older people in the UK – last year, nearly a million didn’t have anyone to celebrate the festive period with* – inspiring support for Age UK is more important than ever. We needed a story that would capture the hearts of the nation – and compel people to support Age UK.
In a market that is saturated with charity Christmas appeals, we looked to the World Cup as our unique opportunity to stand out. Families, friends and communities across the UK come together to watch it – we knew we could juxtapose this togetherness with a heart- wrenching story about loneliness.
Done right, we knew we could use this moment to boost the profile of Age UK’s Christmas campaign – driving awareness and consideration of the brand and increasing propensity to donate.
* Source: polling for Age UK
what we did
- Brand strategy
- Brand Film
- BVOD for Sky, ITV Player and All4
- Paid social
Our creative approach to Age UK’s Christmas brand campaign rested on a simple, powerful truth: for many older people who are lonely, their world gets smaller.
The joy and energy of life can slip away. Many factors, such as support networks disappearing, ill health, or partners dying, can leave older people feeling isolated and disconnected from life.
We wanted to capture that sense of someone’s world getting smaller over the decades, using football as a timely way in.
Fred’s World was born.
The film – directed by Robin Mason and produced by Middlechild – follows Fred and his wife as they watch England matches through the years. We see their relationship deepen as they watch those national moments together, until the present day when we see Fred bereaved and alone.
The film highlights how, for too many older people, their world becomes so much smaller when their partner has died or when their support networks have fallen away.
Fred’s World is a simple, instantly relatable story. One that evokes our audience’s own memories of special moments with their loved ones – and the emptiness that’s left when people are gone.
Plus, with a voiceover from Gabby Logan, who kindly donated her time and talent to the campaign, we know the film will make a splash.
‘Fred’s World’ is now live on BVOD for Sky, ITV Player and All4, plus paid social – cutting through the noise to remind us that, in the busy weeks of Christmas, we can all do something powerful by supporting Age UK to help vulnerable older people.
