What is the opposite of the difficult second album syndrome? When you launch a campaign as creatively evocative and brand defining as ‘We Are The NHS’, the historical industry narrative automatically skips the well done track in favour of ‘how do you follow that?’

It’s a question answered beautifully by MullenLowe Group UK in its new campaign for NHS England, which marks year three of the ‘We Are The NHS’ brand platform. The brand platform has become more than a marketing platform in the latest beautifully shot spot which provides a moment of reflection on 72 years of the nation’s health service. 

The ‘Then, Now and Always’ campaign comes at a pivotal time for the NHS, which has not just been at the front line of the coronavirus crisis, but also front of the line for gratitude from individuals across the UK, who took to their doorsteps each Thursday of the first lockdown to applaud the efforts of its staff.

The landmark campaign shows real people, patients and situations and looks back to the foundation of the NHS 72 years ago. In the biggest recruitment drive in the history of the health service, MullenLowe was commissioned to recruit nurses, health professionals and healthcare support workers as the coronavirus crisis made the pre-existing issue of NHS staff shortages even more important.

Phil Bastable, Deputy Director, Head of Campaigns and Social Media at NHS England and NHS Improvement, explained: “In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the NHS has played a pivotal role in protecting the health of people and their families. We are now looking for the next generation of the NHS workforce. Through the ‘We are the NHS’ campaign, now in its third year, we are looking to attract thousands of new nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare support workers, in order to ensure the service continues to play that vital role for generations to come.”

According to Bastable the campaign will be instrumental in reaching people who, as he explained,  “may have been inspired by the work done by the service over the past few months, or may have dreamt of working with the NHS for years.”
 
Lovisa Silburn, Creative Director at MullenLowe in London, added: “After everything the NHS has been through these last months, we felt the pressure to take the work to another level and with this brief we had the opportunity to tell a greater story. We wanted this film to show just how special the NHS is, to raise the hairs on the backs of people’s necks and inspire thousands to consider a career with this special institution. You could say this film has been 72 years in the making.”