Loneliness amongst the elderly is a real problem but one that is too often difficult to see and impossible for its sufferers to articulate. This issue is even more profound at Christmas, a time when families traditionally come together. Age UK set DRUM the challenge of raising awareness of the issue and, despite a limited budget, DRUM cut through the Christmas fug. DRUM knew that using the celebrated actors James Bolam and Miriam Margolyes to tell the powerful stories of real victims of loneliness in their own words via dramatic films would give them a new dimension and engender a deeper, more emotional response from the audience.
The content attracted over 5.6 million views and, as well as raising awareness, inspired over 24,000 people to enquire how they could help by volunteering with the charity. Already 750 are in training, 12 times the average number of calls Age UK gets in any other given year, so hopefully loneliness at Christmas won’t be such a sad issue in the future.
Creative Director
Matt Cole
Creative
Tom Angell
Account team
Tanya Wilkinson
Katie Beardsley
Head of Talent and Production
Andy Holland
Talent Executive
Justine Sullivan
Production Director
Laura Botten
Agency Producer
Maree Gecks
Head of Design
Michael Ballantyne
Media agency
MG OMD
