Hidden Help
Giving a small charity a big voice
Complicated
Hear the word charity and what springs to mind? Disease? Famine? Animals? Probably. How about furniture? Probably not. But that’s just what was needed by Hidden Help, a Cornwall-based charity that helps individuals referred by Social Services, including those fleeing domestic violence, homeless people, refugees, ex-prisoners, the elderly, or the long-term sick. Very often they may be provided with a roof above their head, but without the home basics to truly start fresh. Nothing to sleep on. Nowhere to sit. Nothing to cook on. Not even anything to eat off. Hidden Help’s job is to provide these items. Our job was to make the public pay attention in the face of competition from other, more conventional, charities.
Simple
We created a set of long copy press ads designed to trigger a powerful emotional response around something as mundane as furniture, crockery, or bedding. Sure, we’ve all got a lot on our plate. But, as we told people, at least we’ve got a plate. We created the campaign pro bono. We got a wonderful photographer, Mike Evans, involved pro bono. We got it in the Cornish press. We even managed to blag a spot in The Times for some national coverage. All to reframe the idea of charity. And to restore some pride in people’s lives.
