Christmas ad for Crisis imagines a life beyond homelessness
‘First Day’ highlights why donations at Christmas are vital to helping the growing number of people experiencing homelessness.
In what is likely the first Christmas ad of 2023, Good Agency has delivered an integrated mass fundraising campaign for Crisis, the UK’s national charity for people experiencing homelessness. It aims to raise £21m and help end homelessness for good, not just on Christmas Day.
The creative intends to shift the typical narrative that dominates the issue of homelessness, showing optimism that a life beyond homelessness is achievable. It positions Crisis at Christmas as the place where someone’s story can change – the start of a life beyond homelessness.
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To achieve this, Good worked collaboratively with three people Crisis has supported – Michelle, David and Saleeha – to create a fully authentic campaign through every channel.
For example, the direct response TV advert puts lived experience at the center by telling Michelle’s story through the first-ever use of the Cyclops first-person camera in a television ad. This enabled Good to demonstrate her journey with Crisis in the most immersive, visceral way possible.
Across the campaign, the stories are told by the members in their own words, with their own handwriting replicated in AI to create the headline font.
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Bryn Attewell, executive creative director at Good, commented: “Working on the 2023 Crisis at Christmas campaign has been a hugely inspiring and exciting project for all of us at Good. It was particularly rewarding to marry lived experience with new technology to break new ground, whether that was through turning handwriting into bespoke fonts through AI or using the Cyclops, first-person camera to tell Michelle’s story and give viewers an immersive, visceral experience. We hope the campaign is a huge success and helps Crisis continue to provide much-needed support and services for people experiencing homelessness across the UK.”
Suzanne Millar, Christmas campaign program lead at Crisis, emphasized the importance of the charity’s work at this time of year, saying: “Over the years, we’ve adapted our Christmas services based on what works so that they really can be the beginning of a journey out of homelessness for the people we support. Our services are dignified and compassionate and they genuinely transform lives. We wanted this year’s campaign to reflect that, with the experiences and voices of people facing homelessness at its heart. We are really pleased with how Good has brought this to life.”