In the Company of Huskies Show the New Face of Poverty in Emotive New Campaign

In the Company of Huskies has launched an emotional new campaign with Ireland’s biggest charity St. Vincent de Paul (SVP). The campaign entitled ‘Save someone from a life of poverty’ juxtaposes the saddening reality of the long-term effects of poverty on young people’s lives and the positive impact made possible through donations.

In two 30-second TVCs, the campaign shows the real-life impact of SVP’s support to individuals and families who have been struck by poverty. The idea is based on two different stories exploring the same basic idea of the long-term effects of poverty on young people lives. In one film, we see an exam hall full of students, but with one empty desk. In a sombre tone, the narrator tells us that the student’s mother had her work hours cut. The boy had to miss a crucial exam just to keep food on the table. The exam has begun and there’s little hope of him making it. In an emotional turn, the door opens, he arrives and is able to sit the test. Through donations made to the charity, he is saved from a life of poverty.

In the Company of Huskies continues its partnership with SVP having created the multi award-winning platform ‘A yes can last a lifetime’ for the charity in 2015. The campaign had a significant impact in Ireland, seeing In the Company of Huskies awarded with two silver awards for Long Term Effectiveness and for Public Service, Social Welfare & Education at ADFX in 2018.

Following their previous success of long-term effectiveness with SVP, Nessa Van Rooyen, group account director at In the Company of Huskies says encouraging donations was central to this campaign: “This campaign builds on the success of the previous one by maintaining fundraising at its core. In a crowded market, we have shown the real-life, life-changing support that the charity provides for people in need only made possible through the donations that individuals make.”

Importantly, In the Company of Huskies had to navigate a new challenge for this year’s campaign by raising awareness of the new face of poverty, says Nessa: “In Ireland, there is a lack of understanding about what modern day poverty is. Poverty is changing, and the types of people seeking SVP’s help are diverse with different problems compared to other years. Poverty is closer to us than we think. There’s also a perception that it’s an unsolvable problem. In this campaign we had to change the narrative of these perceptions in the stories we told.”

“A real challenge for SVP is reminding the public that although the economy has picked up, 780,000 people (16% of the population) are still in consistent poverty,” said Nichola Mullen, Head of Fundraising at SVP. “We needed a creative campaign that showed the public what poverty really looks like on a daily basis. In the Company of Huskies did an excellent job on this by focusing on children and how they miss out because their parents are struggling. The adverts also have a positive side, which is important at Christmas, that shows the direct impact donations will have on saving people from poverty.”

The full campaign includes two 30-second TVCs, two 10-second cuts, radio, press and posters running on OOH, digital and social. ‘Save someone from a life of poverty’ was launched on 14th November 2018.