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Project

Macmillan Gifts in Wills Campaign

Client

Macmillan Cancer Support

Industry

Fourth Sector

Services

Where there's a will there's a way to help life live on.

After the success we had working with Macmillan on their Brave the Shave campaign, we were delighted to have the opportunity to work with them again on a TV advert, print campaign and marketing materials for Gifts in Wills.
With gifts left in people’s wills accounting for one third of their annual income, creating a meaningful and engaging campaign that would connect with the audience was essential to the continued work that Macmillan does to support those living with cancer.
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The Heartbeat

There's a way

Working from the proposition of ‘life after life’, we focused on showing a view of people affected by cancer living their lives the way they want to – made possible by gifts in wills left to Macmillan.

Across the TV and print campaign, we showed people living with cancer managing to enjoy and be ‘present’ in meaningful moments, whether that’s at work, at home or with family.

The emotional, financial and practical support provided by Macmillan has made these moments possible and therefore, without past ‘gifters’, these moments could not have happened.

Motifs of the wider picture, connections and that of times where older generations are passing down knowledge to younger ones combine to show that by leaving a gift to Macmillan in your will, you are becoming part of a wider human tapestry and affecting lives far into the future.

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Making the advert

Our advert follows Mary, who we see reflecting on her life and thinking about the future – and how she can carry on having an impact on the world by leaving a gift to Macmillan in her will.

As well as showing Mary, the advert shows uplifting scenes of a range of people, all living with cancer, yet managing to carry on living their lives their way.

We later show these same people interacting with the services Macmillan provides, from an online community to a one on one meeting with a Macmillan nurse.

The advert ends with a scene where we see Mary have a passing interaction with Nigel, one of the people living with cancer that we have seen earlier. Even though Mary and Nigel don’t know each other, Mary’s action of leaving her gift to Macmillan has created a connection between her and the greater human tapestry.

We were lucky enough to work with the talented Bill Bailey to record a voice-over, using the line ‘where there’s a will there’s a way…’ to illustrate a range of impacts that leaving a gift can enable.

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Print Campaign

From glossies to broadsheets

Our national print campaign took the creative from the TV advert and showed it at its essence – the moments made possible by gifts left in wills, and the headline ‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’.

We chose four hero ads from the photography captured alongside the video footage, focusing on how support from Macmillan helps people to manage their worries and enjoy their lives.

The art direction for the shoot focused on capturing people in their natural environments and in context – we wanted to show real relationships and the small moments which add up to a well-lived life.

Working within Macmillan’s new brand guidelines, we created warm, straightforward and engaging adverts for publications ranging from The Times and The Daily Telegraph to The Big Issue and Sainsburys Magazine.

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Welcome Letter

When people are first considering whether to leave a gift in their will, and get in touch with Macmillan, the first point of contact they have is a welcome letter.

As the prospect of considering, and taking those practical first steps towards, writing your will can be rather intimidating, we wanted to ensure the letter was reassuring, warm and left the decision very much in the reader’s hands.

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The Results

 

We created a campaign that put positivity and hope at the heart of Macmillan’s legacy messaging, which will be seen all across the UK. Our TV advert reached an audience of hundreds of thousands, broadcasting on channels ranging from SKY to ITV and Channel 4 and our print ads were featured in 17 national publications.

If you’d like to consider leaving a gift to Macmillan, you can find more information here.

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