The national advertising campaign highlights the vital role the charity plays in keeping children safe and offers a realistic alternate reality to the ‘perfect Instagram family’.
Director Sachini Imbuldeniya has created a 60″ TVC called ‘Not Letting Go’ featuring T’Nia Miller reciting a powerful poem that charts the realities of parenting amid a striking, graphic series of stills and animation from award-winning artist Martina Lang.
The campaign follows a new survey from NSPCC, which reveals that 75 per cent of UK parents with children under five are anxious about their child’s emotional and mental well-being.
A further 57 per cent think parenting is harder now than it was when they were growing up.
The poem was written by Sachini Imbuldeniya’s creative partner, Darren Smith, and experienced filmmaker Jo Wallace – a creative team assembled by the TV production company Bandicoot.
Sachini Imbuldeniya says: “This ad is the antidote to the ‘perfect Instagram family’. It highlights the everyday scenarios and challenges that many face but rarely discuss to show parents that they are not alone.
“We wanted to ensure that we took the viewer on an emotional journey with a pace that mirrored both the stress and emptiness that parents can often feel at different stages of a child’s life. We also wanted the visuals to stand out from the usual charity ads of the past by taking on a more positive tone with vibrant colours, compelling graphics and a whimsical soundtrack.
“The resulting ad gives parents something they can empathise with, at times even laugh about – and hopefully in turn feel more confident about reaching out to the NSPCC sooner and more often.”
Sachini and Darren Smith were underdogs during the pitch process, winning out against much larger teams from established agencies. Their own venture – full-service content agency House of Oddities – only launched in January.
NSPCC wanted the slot to showcase its understanding that there are lots of families, parents and carers struggling with the everyday challenges of bringing up a child, who are looking for support and easy-to-understand advice they can trust amid overwhelming and often contradictory messages about how to manage family life and what’s best for children.
Darren Smith, who wrote the poem for the campaign, says: “Parenting is probably the worst job in the world. It’s hard, mostly unpaid, boring, and occasionally terrifying, and you can’t ever retire. Despite that, it’s probably the best and most satisfying job in the world, too.
“It’s difficult to fit all those complex emotions into 60 seconds, but we tried to squeeze in a whole life cycle of parenting from birth to the empty nest so that parents could identify with some of the big and small challenges they’re going through.
“And it was brilliantly performed by T’Nia Miller. Ultimately, the ad shows that when it comes to parenting, NSPCC gets it and is there to help.”
The production was overseen by executive producer Kate Pirouet and agency executive producer Juan Leon.
Kevin Yeates, head of brand and content at NSPCC, says: “The NSPCC is best known for its vital work to prevent child abuse and neglect – but it does so much more to support families to keep children safe and well.
“This powerful new ad campaign will hopefully make parents feel less alone and more inclined to reach out to the NSPCC for help with the everyday anxieties and challenges they face while bringing up their children.”
