Age UK: Donate Your Words by Diagonal View

Cadbury, Age UK and Sky Media will unveil the next stage of the Donate Your Words campaign which launched last month. This latest phase of activity is fronted by Sue Perkins and will continue to raise awareness of the heart-breaking issue of loneliness amongst older people and encourage the nation to get involved by donating their words.

Cadbury believes that there is goodness in all of us – it says, “There is a glass and a half in everyone.” When research discovered that 225,000 older people across the UK often go an entire week without speaking to anyone, Cadbury wanted to help. That’s why it’s donated the words from Cadbury Dairy Milk bars to help, with 30p from each limited-edition bar sold going to Age UK. The campaign is encouraging everyone across the nation to help by donating their words too, by chatting to, calling or visiting an older person. Showing that there really is a glass and a half in everyone.

In order to truly understand the experience of these solitary older people, Sue committed to spend 30 hours in complete isolation, without speaking a word to anyone. During this time, she was entirely cut off from the outside world – no internet, phone and minimal reading material. Throughout her time in the house she did not go outside or talk to anyone. Although Sue only had a glimpse into the reality of long-term loneliness, the fit and healthy TV personality felt saddened and shocked after just a short period of time in isolation.

Sue’s experience of undergoing the 30 hours of isolation was recorded and will be shown in two spot TV adverts, including one 100-second long form ad and a shorter 60 second TVC.

Although Sue found this challenge difficult, the TV star understands this experience was not comparable to how an older person experiencing chronic loneliness might feel after days, weeks or even months without proper human contact. Sue’s 30-hour isolation ended with a knock on the door by 89-year-old Theresa who told Sue what she had just experienced was in fact her everyday life, before she joined her local Age UK befriending service. This phase of the campaign aims to give the public, especially the younger, tech-savvy generation, a window into this serious issue so more people can understand how much of a problem loneliness and isolation is, especially during later life.