The Challenge:
More people are being diagnosed with cancer – 50% of people will be diagnosed in their lifetime
More families in Wales are being affected by cancer – 175 families in Wales will lose a loved one to cancer every week.
More people are surviving cancer – thanks to pioneering research.
A Christmas campaign that raises the profile of Cancer Research Wales and increases donations for its world-class, pioneering research happening right here in Wales.
The Idea:
Challenged with creating a campaign for Cancer Research Wales for Christmas, we first looked at the insight.
The research – and the life experience – tells us that people with cancer want simple things: more time with family, more time for cuddles, more meaningful memories, more time to live.
We know Christmas is the time of year people are most likely to give, but it is an extremely competitive market. With 23% more exposure awarded to charity campaigns at Christmas, it is a key time for fundraising for charities of all sizes and being visible with highly emotive content is a must.
And, we all wish for a little more time at Christmas. Time with family, time with friends, time to get all the jobs done. That’s something we can all relate to.
The Campaign
This insight became The Gift of Time campaign – inspired by our own life experiences, the insight gathered, and with a real family at the centre of it.
With awareness of Cancer Research Wales’ pioneering research a key objective, we recommended – and have created – an integrated campaign with a national television advertising campaign at its core.
We spoke to a mix of people with lived experience of cancer, but the moment we met Amy and her family, we knew they were our stars.
Diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at just 29, she had two very young children at home. Now, 5 years on from her diagnosis and treatment, Amy and her family felt taking part in Cancer Research Wales’ first ever TV ad – and biggest ever campaign – would be a positive life experience for them all. The fact they had a full Christmas day experience in August during a heat wave was certainly an experience they’ll never forget.
The advert itself is a Cowshed production from creative concept to delivery to the advertisers – something our team are incredibly proud to have done. It’s been a full team effort, with Fiona creating Benji’s spectacular bauble you see in the opening scenes, Huw’s turkey cooking skills being checked by Amy, Vicki’s mum on the yule log, and Charlotte’s kitchen taking centre stage.
Launching today, 17th November, this campaign will play out across Sky Video on Demand, commercial radio, national, regional and local media relations and social media. Probably most importantly for the brand awareness of Cancer Research Wales, we created this campaign bilingually, with a dedicated Cymraeg version for S4C advertising.
Let us know if you spot it!
Give the Gift of Time this Christmas.
Donate to Cancer Research Wales.
