Cadbury 'Donate Your Words' shop barters with promises of elderly companionship
A Cadbury pop-up charity shop in Cambridge has reimagined the retail experience to raise money for a good cause. Items were traded for promises to talk to an elderly person, all part of the ‘Donate Your Words’ campaign.
Cadbury 'Donate Your Words' shop
The drive has been intent on tackling loneliness in the elderly, culminating in a heart-warming spot called 'Fences' from VCCP earlier this year. The charity shop in Ely, Cambridgeshire, exchanged products for promises of a conversation with an elderly person, all part of a partnership with Age UK.
On Saturday, customers took chosen items to the till and ‘pay’ with a pledge to carry out the action on the tag, be it a ‘hello’ to an older person at the bus stop, a chat with a neighbour, or a phone call to a relative.
The campaign is based upon the insight that 1.4 million older people struggle with loneliness. 225,000 often go a whole week without speaking to anyone.
Bethany Wenn, brand executive at Cadbury, said: “We’re really proud that we were able to work with the Age UK’s shop in Ely as a physical location for people to make a pledge to help us fight loneliness in the UK. The event was a huge success and we hope it goes some way in making a difference to the community.”
Last Saturday in Ely, customers could 'Donate their words' for anything in this @Age_UK shop. People didn’t need to pay for any of the items. Instead, we asked them to 'Donate their words' to lonely older people. And you can #DonateYourWords too: https://t.co/wA5dZYrsKL pic.twitter.com/nXZttldHgR
— Cadbury UK (@CadburyUK) October 22, 2019
Dan Colley, executive creative director at VCCP Retail, added: “Loneliness in older people is something that can be prevented simply by taking a moment to talk to the people we see every day, but don’t necessarily speak to. This retail activation has helped to trigger those conversations by giving people the items they want in exchange for a pledge or promise of a chat. It feels good to have done some good with a wonderful charity and a brand with generosity at its heart.”
Laurie Boult, fundraising director at Age UK, said she has been “overwhelmed with the public’s response to the campaign so far".
Vote for the campaign below in the Creative Works.
