The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has successfully achieved cut through in the cluttered run-up to the Euros through a combination of craft and clarity of thinking.

Twelve beautiful murals have been painted in the hometowns of twelve football fans who lost their lives to heart disease. 

The murals have been painted in Birmingham, Cardiff, Chesterfield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Southampton. Saatchi and Saatchi worked closely with media agency PHD and Grand Visual to secure the purchase of the 12 mural locations. The campaign will also extend across social and radio with bespoke executions highlighting the urgency of research funding to end heart disease. 

The work forms part of a broader campaign to emphasise the critical need for heart research funding by spotlighting the unfulfilled dreams and aspirations of those affected. 

The poignant campaign, entitled ‘Til I Died’, is built on the insight that the nation is largely unaware of the devastating effect heart disease has on young people. It aims to shift the perception of heart disease and raise awareness that it can strike anybody regardless of age. 

The choice to honour 12 individuals stemmed from the insight that 12 young lives are tragically lost to sudden cardiac death every single week in the UK. Each of the young people depicted, all passionate football fans, had their promising futures cut short, leaving behind shattered dreams and unfulfilled aspirations ‘Til They Died. 

Damion Mower, Director of Brand at the British Heart Foundation, explains, “Our new campaign is a powerful reminder of the impact of sudden cardiac death. Behind every mural is a family who have lost a loved one too soon, and our teams at the BHF have worked closely and sensitively with them to ensure their relatives are remembered in a touching way. We thank our creative partners at Saatchi for their sensitivity and care in portraying the stories through the campaign creatives. We are truly thankful to the families who have agreed to remember their loved ones to help us urgently raise awareness and funds towards research into heart and circulatory diseases.”

Franki Goodwin, Chief Creative Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, added: “There’s no words from me that can speak adequately for this work. It speaks for itself and for the twelve young lives lost to heart conditions each week. Crafted sensitively and respectfully in partnership with our amazing clients and the families of our young people. A huge thank you to them… I hope we raise a ton of money to fund lifesaving research.” 

The challenge with raising awareness of a life-threating disease such as heart disease is that for many people they simply can’t believe it will happen to them or their loved ones. By brining these fans to their hometowns, in the throws of their footballing passion, this campaign sensitively celebrates their lives, while successfully reminding people that heart disease is an issue that needs our urgent attention. 

The work was created by Pete Ioulianou and Ollie Agius. Media was handled by PHD.