Shelter can make up to 80% of their donations for the year from their Winter campaign.

However, the cost of living crisis was gripping the UK, with headlines dominating the press. As the nation tightened its purse strings - the client was concerned with whether they’d hit their donation targets this year.

To rally against this, the brief was to bring new people into the conversation. If we could attract new supporters to Shelter, as well as maintain existing supporters, we could mitigate against any potential shortfall in donations.

We knew our audience had grown acclimatised to seeing homelessness portrayed as sleeping rough. Instead, we focused on the bleak reality of temporary accommodation: cramped, mouldy rooms filled with uncertainty and fear. A staggering 120k children would spend Christmas in Temporary Accommodation. This is a story that hadn’t been told. So we took it upon ourselves to tell it.

‘Brave Face’ follows the story of eight-year old Jayden. It’s almost Christmas - a time that should be magical and exciting for all children. We meet our hero, who is spending his day practising his smile. From the school bathroom mirror, to him letting in a goal, to him finding out his low homework score, each time our little hero breaks into an unfathomably happy smile.

With his smile perfected, we suddenly cut to him and his mum walking down a dark, dank hallway, neighbours arguing over the faded music. Jayden looks to his mum for support as the two carry their belongings. As we enter a small, cramped room, mum tells young Jayden what he’s been prepping for - that they’re spending Christmas. As mum tries and struggles to keep her composure, young Jayden melts her and the audience's hearts with the ‘brave face’ he’s been practising so diligently.

Despite the cost of living crisis, the campaign exceeded the fundraising target by 10%. It has over-performed and brought 63% of new donors to Shelter. It also reached over 700,000 households through TV, generating more than 4,6 Million impressions on the channel.

The campaign has achieved a ROAS of 3.69 when UK charity benchmark is 0.3-0.8. ‘Brave Face’ was Shelter’s best performing social media ad this year, achieving over 35+ Million impressions on digital overall.

Unusual for the non-profit sector, the campaign was named in top UK Christmas Ads list in consumer press (The Guardian and The Sun) alongside big name brands like John Lewis, Boots and Amazon.