To celebrate the final season of Ricky Gervais’ After Life, which launched on January 14th, we were asked to create something special and memorable that drives positive conversation about the show and its portrayal of grief.

We wanted to build a lasting and authentic legacy for After Life.

Our ambition was to get the nation to talk about the theme of hope by creating inviting places where people can connect with others.

To celebrate the final season of After Life, which launched on January 14th, Netflix asked us to create something special and memorable that drives positive conversation about the show and its portrayal of grief.

In partnership with Netflix and the charity CALM, 30 permanent ‘Benches of Hope’ were installed across key locations around the UK. Each of the benches’ is inscribed with a quote from the show, “Hope is Everything,” inviting people to take a moment to think or connect with someone else around them. People visited the benches on their own, together, with their pets, their grandmothers, in the sun, and in the rain.

Those who visit a bench are able to access resources from CALM via a unique QR code with the wording ‘Life can be tough, but there’s always hope. Campaign Against Living Miserably is by your side.’

The park bench has always been a natural and meaningful meeting place for families, friends and strangers in UK culture, and especially during Covid19, the park bench had an even more significant role as people were only allowed to meet in outside spaces.

The bench in After Life is iconic and is the setting for a lot of the poignant moments throughout all 3 seasons of Ricky Gervais’ After Life. It just made sense for us to bring it to life in the real world.

The hardest challenge was to come up with an idea that tied into the sensitivities of the show and made sense. To make something really worthwhile that’s authentic and like the show does, can potentially help people. The challenge was to achieve all of that and also create something that left a lasting legacy.

We installed 30 permanent ‘Benches of Hope’ in key locations around the UK, from the big cities to the smaller towns.

The bench is iconic and is the setting for a lot of the poignant moments throughout all 3 seasons of Ricky Gervais’ After Life. It just made sense for us to bring it to life in the real world. We wanted the benches to be installed nationwide so Netflix liaised with local councils around the UK. The show is set in a small town so it made sense to echo that with many local installations, not just the big cities.

Each bench is inscribed with a simple but significant quote from the show, “Hope is Everything,” inviting people to take a moment to think or connect with someone else around them.

Those who visit a bench are able to access resources from CALM via a unique QR code with the wording ‘Life can be tough, but there’s always hope. Campaign Against Living Miserably is by your side.’

The campaign exploded with over 700 mentions across digital, tv & radio (as of March 4th 2022).

The benches were talked about on the BBC and stateside on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon - generating an Advertising Value Equivalency of nearly 17 million pounds.

Featured in 25 print pieces and 10 broadcasts

On social media - there have been over 40 thousand mentions of ""After Life and benches"".

On Twitter, CALM's profile impressions are up 16%, post impressions 131%, post engagements 64% - and there have been over 46 thousand visits to the website CALM x After Life social hub. (As of 4th March).

Fans and councils without a local bench installed have even requested their own. We’re now creating a further hundred CALM x After Life plaques for councils to place on an existing bench locally.