NSPCC launches a major multi-platform brand awareness campaign with Sex Education star T’Nia Miller

The national campaign shows the vital role the charity plays in keeping children safe today.

The 60” TVC called ‘Not Letting Go’, features T’Nia Miller reciting a powerful poem that charts the everyday realities of parenting amidst a striking, graphic series of stills and animations from award- winning artist Martina Lang.

Support

NSPCC understands that there’s lots of families, parents and carers out there struggling with the everyday challenges of bringing up a child, who are looking for support and easy to understand advice they can trust.

There are overwhelming, and often contradictory, messages about how to manage family life and what’s best for children. Parenting’s never easy but parents and carers are the ones who can make the biggest difference to children’s lives.

Empathy

This campaign centres around a powerful, authentic and relatable message to show that NSPCC both understands and empathises with their feelings of anxiety and has the expertise that parents can trust.

A new survey from NSPCC reveals three in four (75%) UK parents with children under five are anxious about their child’s emotional and mental wellbeing while a majority of parents (57%) say that they think parenting is harder now that it was when they were growing up.

The poem was written by Darren Smith and directed by Sachini Imbuldeniya and Jo Wallace. The all-star creative team was assembled by TV production company Bandicoot.

Sachini Imbuldeniya says: ‘This ad is the antidote to the ‘perfect Instagram family’. It highlights the everyday scenarios and challenges that many face but rarely discuss, to show parents that they are not alone.

We wanted to ensure that we took the viewer on an emotional journey with a pace that mirrored both the busyness and emptiness that parents can often feel at different stages of a child’s life. We also wanted the visuals to stand out from the usual charity ads of the past by taking on a more positive tone with vibrant colours, compelling graphics and a whimsical soundtrack.

The resulting ad gives parents something they can empathise with, at times even laugh about – and hopefully, in turn, feel more confident about reaching out to the NSPCC sooner and more often.’

Sachini worked with long-time creative partner Darren Smith on the pitch, who wrote the poem for the TVC. He says:

‘Parenting is probably the worst job in the world. It’s hard, mostly unpaid, often boring, occasionally terrifying, and you can’t ever retire from it. Despite that, it’s probably the best and most satisfying job in the world, too.

It’s difficult to fit all those complex emotions into 60 seconds, but we tried to squeeze in a whole life cycle of parenting from birth to the empty nest so that parents could identify with some of the big and small challenges they’re going through. And it was brilliantly performed by T’Nia Miller. Ultimately the ad shows that when it comes to parenting, NSPCC gets it and is there to help.’

Sachini and Darren brought in veteran filmmaker Jo Wallace to co-direct the TVC. The production was overseen by executive producer Kate Pirouet and agency executive producer Juan Leon.

Credits

Agency: Bandicoot

Creative:
Commercials Director and Executive Creative
Director: Sachini Imbuldeniya
Writer and Content Director: Darren Smith

Account:
Commercials Director and Executive Creative
Director: Sachini Imbuldeniya
Content Director: Darren Smith
Executive Producer: Juan Leon
Director of Production and Operations: Louisa Benger Production Manager: Katy Smith

Strategy:
Commercials Director and Executive Creative
Director: Sachini Imbuldeniya
Content Director: Darren Smith

Production:
Talent: T’nia Miller
Poet and Content Director: Darren Smith
Director: Sachini Imbuldeniya
Director: Jo Wallace
Executive Producer: Kate Pirouet
Agency Executive Producer: Juan Leon
Director of Photography: Ian Murray
First Assistant Director: Robert Thorpe
Second Assistant Director: Sophie Jacob
Line Producer: Jules Collings
Production Manager: Kristina Vladova
Production Coordinator: Mara Blakemore
Production Assistant: Jennifer Daley
Location Manager: Jamie Lindsay
Location Marshal: Ellie Mckay-Cross
Runner: Samuel Mines
Runner: Stefan Puxon
Runner: Mairead Walmsley
Focus Puller / First Assistant: Bernin Isaac
Clapper Loader / Second Assistant: Henry Vinten
Camera Assistant: Flori Watts
Dit: Vlad Martyn
Video Playback Operator: Von Adams
Video Playback Trainee: Pearl Adams
Gaffer: Josh Mclaren
Electrician: Kris Grigonis
Electrician: Joe Greene
Art Director: Amanda Bernstein
Stylist: Sara Neighbour
Props #1: Jonny Norman
Props #2: Liam Alleyne
Prop Transport Driver: Feras Hilme
Hair/Makeup Artist: Zaynah Sanusi
Wardrobe Stylist: Kathy Chan
Sound: Emanuele Constantini
BTS Photographer & Videographer: Mark Small
Catering: Chloe O’brien
Location Security: C/O Liz Mccann
Unit Nurse: Pete Meads
Photography and animation: Martina Lang
Photography and animation assistant: Olivia Wright
Photography retoucher: Kaja Jangaard
Offline Editor: Nathan Perry- Greene
Graphics: Sachini Imbuldeniya
Coffee & TV: Grade
Colourist: Tash Hicks
Producer: Pete Burch
Unit Post: Online
Online: Alec Eves, Ian Baker
Producer: Dale Amanda Heron
Exec Producer: Tania De Sousa
Music composition and sound: Jungle Studios
Clown model: Tuttii
Media planning: OMD
Media support: ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Digital Cinema Media, The Guardian, Newsquest