Tag: advertising campaign

Aberlour Children’s Charity seeks urgent assistance as fund for disadvantaged families runs out 

·        Aberlour Children’s Charity is launching a new national ‘Poverty Relief Appeal’ on Monday, 14th November to secure donations for its Urgent Assistance Fund 

·        The Fund, which provides cash for essentials such as food, bedding, clothing and heating, is currently closed to new applications due to extreme demand during the cost-of-living crisis

·        In the last eighteen months, the Fund has awarded over £1M to struggling families in Central Scotland – the most of any Scottish region

Aberlour Children’s Charity, one of the largest Scottish children’s charities, is launching a new national fundraising drive to secure critical donations for its Urgent Assistance Fund, which provides vital financial support to the most disadvantaged families in Central Scotland.  

Following the Covid-19 pandemic and amid the cost-of-living crisis, the charity has had to close the Fund, which delivers cash grants, typically within 48 hours, for essentials such as food, clothing, and energy costs, to new applications. 

Over 12,000 people across Scotland have received grants from Aberlour worth £1.44 million since April 2021.   

In the Central Belt*, 2,862 grants have been made since April 2021, supporting 9,377 individuals. The average grant value awarded is £373.36, and the most requested item that families are seeking to buy with grants from the Urgent Assistance Fund in the region is clothing, followed by food, bedding and then money towards utility bills.

Aberlour’s new Poverty Relief Appeal launches today – Monday, 14th November – across national TV, radio, press and digital.

The TV advert follows seven-year-old ‘Emma’ whose normal family life is turned upside down as they struggle to cope with the financial pressures of the cost-of-living crisis. We see an empty wall where a radiator once stood followed by an empty plate once filled with nutritious food, and, eventually, Emma looks into a bedroom with no bed as she prepares for another night sleeping on the floor.  

SallyAnn Kelly, Chief Executive at Aberlour Children’s Charity, said: “This is one of the most challenging periods families have faced in decades and Scotland’s poorest children face a dark, cold winter. 

“The worst-off families in our communities can simply no longer afford to put the lights on, heat their homes, put food on the table, or buy basic necessities for their children such as a bed or bedding.  

“Every penny donated to Aberlour goes directly to families and our Urgent Assistance Fund has been a vital means to many. However, the reality is that we are only able to help one out of four existing applications and, unfortunately, the Fund is now closed to new applications until we can secure more donations.

“Christmas is a time when families struggle more than any other. As the cost-of-living increases daily, the impact could be devastating, and we are asking anyone that is in a position to contribute – however big or small the amount – to donate via our website to support those in need.”

Chloe Taylor, support worker for Aberlour based in Glasgow, added: “We work daily with families who have always lived normal lives but sadly the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis has created extreme stress in the household.

“When there are so many families looking for support, it can be very easy to be forgotten, so initiatives and financial support such as the Urgent Assistance Fund are absolutely vital for struggling families in the Central Belt.”

Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund can provide immediate relief to families with children (aged 21 and under) who are suffering extreme hardship.

Money is paid straight to families who apply via a sponsor (health professional, social worker, teacher, third sector organisation, clergy or other professional). 

Donations to Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund via:

www.aberlour.org.uk/povertyrelief 

Information on the Urgent Assistance Fund: www.aberlour.org.uk/get-help/urgent-assistance-fund

World’s first ad campaign NFT auction goes live

The world’s first Non-Fungible Token (NFT) auction of an advertising campaign opens to bidders yesterday (August 2nd 2021) for seven days (ends August 8th 2021), and it’s all for a good cause.

Ekstasy, an award-winning London based creative advertising agency, has launched the NFT auction to support food charity Magic Breakfast.

It is the first creative advertising agency to raise money for a charity in this innovative way. The winning bidder will win a campaign created by Ekstasy that consists of TV, digital out of home and radio advertising. This is a new and exciting way to raise money for charity. The NFT ad campaign, consisting of three assets (TV 30 sec, digital out of home 10 sec and radio ads 30 sec), will be auctioned via Opensea.io.

Magic Breakfast is a charity that provides nutritious breakfasts to around 170,000 vulnerable children each school day.

There are an estimated 2 million children in the UK at risk of starting the day hungry. Since its launch 20 years ago, Magic Breakfast has been providing schoolchildren in disadvantaged areas of the UK with healthy breakfasts to ensure they have the energy and nutrition to make the most of their morning lessons.

A hungry child cannot focus on their learning, which can negatively impact their educational attainment and may, in the long run, affect their professional careers.

Child hunger has reached a crisis point this year, with a growing awareness of the issue facing families throughout the UK. Earlier this year, Magic Breakfast teamed up with footballer and anti-poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford and Macmillan Children’s Books to donate 50,000 books to children in their partner schools to launch The Marcus Rashford Book Club to help reach children who may not have access to books at home.

Funds raised from the sale of the NFTs created by Ekstasy will allow the charity to continue to work towards its mission that no child is too hungry to learn.

Magic Breakfast is a cause close to the heart of Ekstasy’s Founder and CEO, Mike Saraswat. Mike faced food insecurity whilst in his first year of university and found that his learning was impacted due to lack of food.

Mike said: “I relied on one meal a day for several months and would ask for extra fries at the university cafe so that I would not have to buy dinner. I was already extremely hungry due to lack of breakfast; launching this NFT is my way of giving back”. Mike now runs Ekstasy, a successful agency, and wanted to give back by shining a light on this topic using the medium of cutting edge NFT technology.

On the campaign, Mike said, “The dreams of so many young children are being hindered by lack of good meals, especially breakfast, which we know helps children to focus during lessons and make the most of their education.

Magic Breakfast is a fantastic charity, and I am delighted to be helping them raise funds and awareness for their cause using the new-age medium of NFTs. Technology has the potential for good if used with the right intent.”

Emily Wilkie, Head of Fundraising at Magic Breakfast said, “We are so grateful to Ekstasy for drawing attention to the urgent issue of child hunger in the UK. A healthy breakfast can have a transformative effect on a hungry child’s ability to learn and enjoy their mornings at school.

Money raised from the auction will allow Magic Breakfast to reach even more children at risk of morning hunger and ensure that no child in our partner schools is too hungry to learn.”

Magic Breakfast and Ekstasy are inviting bids for this NFT auction through: 

https://opensea.io/collection/worlds-first-nft-advertising-campaign-by-ekstasy.

‘Act Like You’ve Got It’

The UK Government has launched a major new public campaign urging people to act like they have the virus

  • A new TV ad fronted by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty urges people to stay at home in the face of rapidly rising rate of coronavirus infections and pressures facing the NHS.
  • Massive public information campaign is now running across TV, radio, out of home and on social media

Everyone in England is being urged to stay at home and “act like you’ve got it” as part of a major advertising campaign encouraging the public to control the spread of the virus and protect the NHS and save lives.

Around 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 don’t have any symptoms and can pass it on without realising, which is why it’s essential everyone stays at home and remembers Hands, Face, Space.

‘Stay at home, save lives’ will run across TV, radio, out of home advertising and on social media, and will include a new advert fronted by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty which will be aired for the first time on ITV at 7.15pm on Friday 8 January 2021.

The campaign recognises the overwhelming pressure facing the NHS and urges people to stay at home. It comes as current data shows COVID-19 cases and deaths are at an all-time high and NHS hospitals and staff are under huge pressure, with some hospitals in the South East at extreme capacity.

On 1 September, there were under 500 COVID-19 inpatients in hospitals in England. On 1 November this increased to approximately 9,000. On Christmas Day, it was just below the last peak at 17,701 and on 7 January there were 28,246 – that is an increase of more than 11,000 in under two weeks.

The latest stark data shows the UK recorded 68,053 new coronavirus cases – the highest daily total of the pandemic so far, as well as the highest ever daily COVID-19 deaths with 1,325 fatalities.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Our hospitals are under more pressure than at any other time since the start of the pandemic, and infection rates across the entire country continue to soar at an alarming rate.

“The vaccine has given us renewed hope in our fight against the virus but we must not be complacent. The NHS is under severe strain and we must take action to protect it, both so our doctors and nurses can continue to save lives and so they can vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as we can.

“I know the last year has taken its toll – but your compliance is now more vital than ever. So once again, I must urge everyone to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: Our NHS is facing a huge challenge – it is under immense pressure and it’s imperative now more than ever we all play our part.

“I know how much we have all sacrificed already, but the new variant has significantly changed the current landscape and we absolutely cannot let up now.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel – the vaccine will provide a way out of this and over 1.5 million people across the UK have now been vaccinated.

“Every day we are closer to beating this virus, but right now, we need to pull together for one final push and I’m urging you to continue to do your bit by staying at home to save lives and protect the NHS.

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said: “Covid-19, especially the new variant, is spreading quickly across the country. This puts many people at risk of serious disease and is placing a lot of pressure on our NHS.

“Once more, we must all stay at home. If it’s essential to go out, remember: wash your hands, cover your face indoors and keep your distance from others.

“Vaccines give clear hope for the future, but for now we must all stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

The adverts remind the public the new Covid-19 variant is spreading fast. Around 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 don’t have any symptoms, but can still pass it on, putting people at risk and a renewed pressure on our NHS.

It reiterates everyone must stay at home. If it’s essential to go out, it reminds people to wash their hands, cover their face and make space.

In the meantime, NHS Test and Trace is successfully reaching more people than ever before, with 96.8% of contacts reached within 24 hours and more than five million people being reached in total. As of 30 December, more than 54 million tests have been processed in the UK in total since testing began – more than any other comparable European country.

Over 1.5 million people across the UK have now been vaccinated – more than the whole of Europe. But the Government is urging people to continue to do their bit and further prevent the spread of Covid-19.