Some briefs benefit from research. Others need something more personal.
Before beginning work on Macmillan’s Brave the Shave campaign, our Creative Director, Lee, signed up to shave his own head. What started as a way of understanding the challenge quickly became something much bigger. Friends, family, colleagues and clients rallied around the fundraiser, donations far exceeded expectations, and the experience revealed something that wasn’t immediately obvious from the brief alone: Brave the Shave wasn’t just about losing your hair. It was about the people who inspire you to do it.
Heartbeat
That insight shaped every creative decision that followed. Rather than treating participants as fundraisers, we treated them as storytellers. Every shave carried its own dedication, whether it was for a parent, partner, friend or for everyone living with cancer. Those personal motivations became the campaign itself.
The line ‘This is for…’ gave people a simple but powerful way to express why they were taking part. It appeared everywhere, from national advertising and digital campaigns to welcome packs, fundraising materials and thank-you packs, creating a thread that connected every touchpoint. Real participants were photographed in their own environments rather than in a studio, allowing the campaign to capture genuine moments instead of manufactured ones. Even the participant journey was carefully considered, with illustrated welcome packs, personalised certificates and handwritten messages helping every Brave the Shave feel recognised from the day they signed up to long after the clippers had been put away.
Impact
The campaign gave Brave the Shave a more personal and emotionally resonant identity, celebrating not just the act of shaving, but the reasons behind it. Rolled out across television, radio, print, social media, digital advertising and participant communications, the campaign successfully refreshed one of Macmillan’s most recognisable fundraising initiatives while remaining true to the people at its heart.
The proposition proved so effective that it became the foundation for the following year’s campaign, evolving into a new creative platform while continuing to increase registrations and fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support.
