The campaign from TBWA\MCR cuts through the emotional fatigue in the charity sector.
Cutting through the emotional fatigue often associated with the charity sector, limbless veteran’s charity Blesma has found the funny in fundraising with a new campaign that leans on humor to cut through.
“Our brave veterans, our valiant veterans,” says a voiceover as audiences are shown a veteran stood tall and proud. “Our heroic-” the voiceover cuts off as the veteran is hit in the face with a stream of his baby’s pee.
The humorous campaign, ‘Not heroic, human’ has been created with the help of TBWA\MCR challenges audiences' perceptions of veterans by showing their everyday lives.
While the veterans might have lost limbs, they have not lost their humanity. By showing their families, homes and ambitions whilst poking fun at the ‘fallen heroes’ trope, the campaign encourages people to donate to help veterans return to their normal lives.
Disrupting the tropes of a usual donation appeal ad, the TVC spot instead focuses on the realities of being a veteran with a much lighter tone than usual. The central character is seen not in conflict but changing his baby's nappy. A scene that audiences can relate to but that is made slightly more challenging for the protagonist who is a triple amputee. The spot features former Royal Marine Mark Ormrod MBE, the UK's first triple amputee to survive the Afghanistan conflict.
The campaign aims to raise money for Blesma, a charity focused on helping ex-service people, and their families, following the loss or loss of use of limbs or sight. The TVC was shot by Sting Films, the internal production agency of TBWA\MCR.
The humorous approach of the campaign is intended to cut through the emotional fatigue that audiences can often experience within the charity sector. In a world where audiences are no strangers to crisis, layering on pressure can cause audiences to feel hopeless and presenting solutions with humour can prove much more effective.
Born from multiple in-depth insight sessions with veterans, TBWA\MCR’s creative direction intends to shine a light on veterans in a way they haven’t been seen before.
“Culture calls them ‘heroes’ but they don’t associate with that word. They believe they were doing their job; so were not heroic, but human.” says Lisa Nichols, Executive Creative Director, TBWA\MCR.
She continues: “We want people to think about veterans in a new light beyond their combat past, and into the present and future where they live and exist now. They’re everyday people just like you and me, but some of the small tasks that we take for granted, they have to deal with on a whole different level.”
At a time when Veterans receive no Government financial support and the naming of military charity beneficiaries in legacy giving is in decline, the campaign uses humour to connect with audiences. Through joy and relatability the campaign rallies for funding without fearmongering.
Looks like you need to create a Creativebrief account to perform this action.
Create account Sign inLooks like you need to create a Creativebrief account to perform this action.
Create account Sign in
