Will power: How Trinity Mirror helped the public plan their deaths on Do It Day
Death is an eventuality all living people share, and yet, perversely, a tabooed topic the public just won't talk about. Ultimately, an unplanned-for death can kick up a whole slate of problems for the bereaved, a universal truth that Trinity Mirror planned to reverse at Do It Day through the creation of the Death Cafe.
These days, kicking the bucket can require a lot more preparation than living, as death drags up a world of paperwork and legal nuances to navigate - a situation best solved with the formulation of a 'last will and testament'.
The brief? Starting a nationwide discussion about death with an ad campaign, ensuring viewers push paper (their wills) before they inevitably push daises.
The reasoning? Many people experience a paralysis or numbness after the death of a loved one, a panel of top creative attendees looked to ease this pain by helping the public prepare for the unmentionable.
The 'Death Cafe' workshop launched with an uncharacteristic shyness from many of the creatives involved. Sat in a circle, they were tasked with sharing stories of loss and sadness in a scene more reminiscent of an AA meeting than a workshop conceived to shift the paradigm.
Hasina Zaman, who moderated the Death Cafe discussion that morning, explained how the movement looks to ease the bad vibes enshrouding death using frank conversation, planning aids, and of course, tea and biscuits. She described her role in destigmatising death as "empowering".
As the morning faded, attendees were asked to share the one thing they'd like to do before they die, in preparation of the macabre eventuality, they will one day perish.
The group quickly gained confidence, pitching a plethora of editorial content in digital and print ads to build upon Trinity Mirror's campaign - which kicked off with a quiz asking users which song they would like played at their funeral.
On why it picked the morbid brief, arguably one of Do It Day’s weirdest, Zoe Harris, group marketing director for Trinity Mirror (TM), said: “We represent Britain’s modern mass market and feel we have a responsibility to educate on and stand for the things that will improve their lives - we wanted to get people to talk openly about one of life’s biggest taboos, death, by challenging the issue head-on.”
Said brief arose from an alleged flood of queries directed to TM personal finance writer, Tricia Phillips, asking about the financial impact of death and how to plan funerals.
Harris said: “People will often say they haven’t got anything worth leaving to anyone, but when they actually read into it they realise they have plenty to consider… and it’s not just about what you leave behind – sharing your wishes helps loved ones make difficult decisions for your funeral, organ donation and much more.”
She concluded: “The subject of death certainly jars with people slightly, but that holds their interest and will hopefully allow us to get our message across.”
Jonny Tooze, managing director and founder of digital agency Lab, following his participation in the brainstorm, told The Drum: "The challenge is to break the taboo around death which is a huge cultural undertaking. A lot of the challenges could be solved with a website or an app, instead, this brief was a long-term campaign to change society for the better."
He said he was looking to "disrupt" how society perceives death with his involvement in the workshop: "Death is bad and is associated with negative emotions, it is much easier to stick your head in the sand and not have any discussion around it, despite the two certainties in life, death and taxes."
He concluded that the public wouldn't respond to a "gentle idea," instead TM had to "shock people out of their stupor".
Nile Evans and John Harding, in-house senior creatives from Trinity Mirror developed some of the ads on-site, taking inspiration from the attendees' suggestions.
Below are two of the ads which could feature in the print campaign - which will launch in the Sunday Mirror this weekend.
