We had to find a visually engaging way to represent the struggle that was otherwise invisible.

We first chose to portray a common aspect of autism that very few were aware of, sensory overload, in an incredibly visceral way - by putting them into an autistic person’s shoes. Using POV filming and VR we were able to show people first hand what it could feel like to both see the world differently and be judged for doing so. As the campaign built, we focussed on processing time releasing two films using repetition and overlay to recreate the experience of someone with autism when they are overloaded. Using a combination of big awareness drivers and deep diving educational pieces, people were able to truly begin to understand autism, building compassion, not guilt.

We launched the campaign with a POV film which went viral picking up over 56 million views and a media partnership with The Guardian Online which broke all their internal records and earnt it’s way onto the front page, twice.

As a companion to the main film we created a VR version of the film which was taken on tour across the UK in shopping centers & party conferences and made into teaching pack and lesson plans for schools.

Using a map & pledge mechanism we have been able to successfully educate people on the small changes they can make in their everyday lives and capture data and increase sign ups for the charity.

The campaign has continued from strength to strength well into it’s second year, with film pieces picking up millions of views, shares and high levels of press engagement, although UK focused the reach has been global in success.

415 million campaign reach

68+ million video views

1+ million social shares

130+ pieces of coverage (online, radio, tv)

Pro bono cinema, TV & tour venue placements

150k social channel growth of new audiences

Average of 4% engagement rate on film assets

6.94 record breaking CTR on guardian content (av 0.2%)

26% increased awareness of the NAS

Half the charities yearly sign up target in the first 10 days

Most importantly: 16% change in public behavior in the first six months (NFP)