Advertising

The client

ChildLine, part of the NSPCC, runs the UK helpline for children. In 2007 it launched Gringtones, a fundraiser with a simple, generous mechanic: buy a downloadable gift ringtone, and the profits train the volunteer counsellors who answer the calls. Twenty media companies and a roster of celebrity recordings got behind it, a high-profile push for a cause that needs no introduction.

We developed the animated advertising for the campaign, working directly with Dan Gopal at Walt Disney, the client contact and approver on the job.

The challenge

Charity fundraising lives or dies on attention. The campaign needed online advertising that could run as donated media across many different publishers, carry the ChildLine brand with warmth, and move people to buy a gift ringtone, all inside the tight technical limits of standard ad units. Every impression was donated space, so every frame had to earn its place.

What we did

We created the animated online advertising for the ChildLine Gringtones campaign: banner animations that ran across the donated media network, putting the gift-ringtone fundraiser in front of audiences on some of the UK's biggest publishers.

Our approach

We designed within the standard ad-unit formats and file-weight limits of the day, keeping the ChildLine brand front and centre with a clear, warm call to give. The tone mattered as much as the craft: this was a children's helpline asking for support, not a novelty download selling itself, and the animation had to respect that.

Outcome

The campaign ran across a large donated-media network for one of the UK's best-known children's charities, and our animated advertising carried it online. Twenty media companies donated free ad space, creative, planning and technology, with around £600,000 of print and online inventory behind the launch, every pound of profit going to ChildLine.

Context & coverage

ChildLine's Gringtones launched in 2007 as a gift-ringtone fundraiser. Supporters could download ringtone messages from celebrities including Ant & Dec and Simon Cowell for £3 each, with all profits going to train volunteer counsellors for the 4,500 children who call ChildLine daily.

Twenty media companies donated free ad space, creative input, planning and technology, including roughly £600,000 of print and online inventory. Those backers were: Boomerang, CBS Outdoor, GCap, International Poster Management, IPC Media, MTV, New Brand Media, Ocean Outdoor, Primesight, Sounddelivery, Streettalk, Taxi Promotions UK, Telegraph Online, Titan & In-Situ, Trinity Mirror, Universal McCann, Viacom Brand Solutions, Visit London, Voxpops and Walt Disney.

Dan Gopal, deputy chairman of the ChildLine 20 Board at Walt Disney, told the press at launch: "Everything has been provided free on behalf of ChildLine and only the charity profits from the sales."

Jonathan's route into the brief came through Dan Gopal at Disney, a contact from earlier McDonald's work at Agilisys. Disney appears in the public coverage as one of the companies that contributed resources to the campaign, but the consumer-facing client brand remained ChildLine and the NSPCC.

• Media companies back ChildLine for gift ringtones promo (Campaign / Brand Republic, 15 Aug 2007): launch coverage, full backer list and campaign mechanics.