Barnardos introduces fresh 'Believe In Me' positioning as it rips up the charity ad rulebook to reach a more diverse audience
Barnardo’s has launched a fresh campaign dubbed ‘Believe In Me’ which aims to showcase the incredible things that can happen when people put faith in children who may not have had the best start in life.
The push comes as the brand launches a new 10-year corporate strategy which looks to reassert the relevance of Barnardo’s, and reach a more diverse audience that is reflective of modern day Britain. While name recognition of the non-profit is high, the group wants to raise greater awareness of the breadth of the work it does for children around the UK.
At the heart of the new positioning is a 60-second film which features five young stars performing dramatic reconstructions of true events, showing how their narratives transformed from victim to hero thanks to the charity.
The spot aims to “rip up the rulebook,” of children’s charity advertising, eschewing sad eyes and melancholy music for something “far more powerful,” according to the creative agency behind it, FCB Inferno.
The children in the video are shown dancing, sparring, drumming and practicing other skills as text across the screen tells their stories. Lines like ‘I am not his little secret’, ‘I am not the toys I never had’ and ‘I am not my broken ribs’ turn into rallying cries like ‘I am strong’, ‘I am free’, ‘I am proud’ and ‘I am unstoppable’. Rather than working with actors, the stars of the campaign were street cast. Each was given the back story for their role, resulting in the raw performances seen on screen.
Soundtracked by a cover of Tears for Fear’s 80s classic ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’, the five performances in the ad each represent a key focus of Barnardo’s care, ending on the stapline: ‘Believe In Me’.
As well as running across TV, the campaign will run across national press and specific BME media over the next few months with media being managed by John Ayling Associates. An online hub built by Dam Digital and Stand will showcase solo performances from the cast to encourage deeper engagement.
“We’ve been championing children for 150 years, because we believe a child’s future should never be defined their past," said Barnardo’s director of policy and comms, Gill Holmes. "We are announcing a bold new brand campaign to support our charity in transforming the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and their families."