Homeless Young People Audition for a Place in Viewers’ Homes during Big Brother Inspired Campaign by Depaul UK

Following Big Brother’s return to our screens on ITVX, homelessness charity Depaul UK is launching a unique televised campaign titled ‘House Auditions’, to drive awareness of its vital Nightstop service that is in place across the UK.

Depaul UK has worked with creative agency Publicis•Poke and production company Merman Branded to create a campaign to raise awareness of young people aged between 18-24 facing homelessness this winter. Media agency Zenith has driven media planning and buying. 

Launching on Monday November 6th for one week, the campaign will run across ITVX to coincide with the programming of Big Brother, and aims to personify homelessness through emotive portrayals of the realities of homelessness for many young people across the UK, often which is hidden from those around them. ‘House Auditions’ is able to show a face of homelessness that an audience can truly connect with. The campaign will also feature across Depaul UK’s own social media platforms, to maximise awareness.

The issue of homelessness is especially important in the winter months, as the nights get colder and darker, and it becomes increasingly dangerous to not have access to safe housing. There are currently more than 129,000 young people dealing with homelessness, but due to the hidden nature of this issue, the true number is thought to be much higher.

Publicis•Poke has worked with director Margot Bowman and Merman to create ‘audition tapes’ – two films that feature a young person ‘auditioning’ to ‘live in the house’. However, things are not as they seem; as you continue to watch, it becomes clear that they are not auditioning for the Big Brother house – they are auditioning to live in your house.

In ‘House Auditions’, each of the films begins in a similar vein to the Big Brother audition tapes as they explain why they would make a good housemate. As the films progress, we see more of the backgrounds and environments; a run-down house or tent, carving out these young people’s personal situations. Instantly recognisable, these ‘tapes’ tap into the pop culture minds of a generation, juxtaposing the happy, jovial people asking to be accepted into the Big Brother house with the thousands of young people who are in dire need of a safe place to live.

These tapes signpost viewers to Nightstop, Depaul UK’s flagship mission that asks volunteers to open their homes to young people who need a safe place to stay for the night. Nightstop began in 1987, and currently operates through different communities and charities in more than 23 locations across the UK. In 2022, 621 young people were provided with safe accommodation across the network, with 7,522 safe nights accounted for young people off the streets – highlighting just how much impact this programme has.

Kristina Hedderly-Perez, executive director of fundraising & communications at Depaul UK, said, “Winter is a key time for tackling homelessness, and we are currently seeing huge numbers of young people who don’t have access to a safe place to sleep for the night. We want to raise awareness of this and encourage those who can open their hearts and their homes through our Nightstop programme – helping to provide safe accommodation for those most vulnerable at this time of year. Publicis•Poke have used their creative compassion to generate a campaign that we are sure will drive awareness of this very important cause”.

Rhys Hughes and Barret Helander, senior creatives at Publicis•Poke said, “We wanted to drive awareness of the scale of youth homelessness whilst showcasing the amazing work Nightstop continues to do around the UK. It has been a privilege to work with such talented people, and in partnership with such an iconic show, to help bring such an important issue and service to light”.

Margot Bowman, director at Merman said, “It’s been an honour to make these films that centre on the day-to-day interactions of young people experiencing homelessness. It was integral to approach the films with a level of care and sensitivity that our day-to-day interaction with the subject matter in real life so often lacks. Living and working in London all my life, you can't ignore the spike in homelessness across the city and I hope these films and the work put in by the team and actors shed light to this very urgent topic.”

Depaul UK’s campaign is running at the same time as the charity's winter appeal featuring Nightstop. Depaul UK, has warned of extraordinary risks to young people facing homelessness this winter and says that in the first six months of this year, there was a 30% increase in referrals to its emergency accommodation service, Nightstop. It has launched an urgent appeal to help young people reach a safe place tonight.