Overflowing Lunchboxes Highlight Growing Issues of Child Food Poverty in the UK

Child Poverty Action Group, the leading charity campaigning for an end to child poverty in the UK, has launched its first above-the-line campaign.

Created by Creature London, the campaign aims to raise awareness about rising child poverty levels in the UK and the impact poverty has on children, as well as to place additional pressure on the UK’s leaders to implement policies that could change millions of children's lives.

Child Poverty Action Group works on behalf of the more than one in four children growing up in poverty in the UK today. They work tirelessly to understand the root causes and create change for the millions of children who are going without basics and missing out on the magic of childhood. With the recent cost-of-living crisis, this issue has only been exacerbated. But child poverty doesn't have to exist; it is an economic problem that can be solved by our government.

Launching today, 'Imagine' is a multichannel campaign across TV, Print, OOH, Digital, and Social that brings the shocking realities of child poverty to life. Inspired by the insight that children have been turning up to school with empty lunchboxes and then going through the pantomime of eating to avoid feelings of social embarrassment and isolation, the film, directed by Adam Berg, takes us on a fantastical journey with our hero through a school lunch hall. However, instead of lunchboxes with simple sandwiches and apples, we see mountains of fruit, endless popcorn, and doughnuts appearing like magic, all set to the iconic song 'Food, Glorious Food.' However, as our hero sits down and opens his lunchbox, instead of another incredible food surprise, we see him pretending to eat a banana as the scene changes, and he is now sitting alone.

Ben Middleton, chief creative officer at Creature London, says, "Hearing stories of children eating erasers** because they are so hungry is something that I won’t forget anytime soon, but it has been a privilege to spend time in the imagination of children. It is a potent tool that should be reserved only for the magical, marvellous, and downright bizarre, not the mundane.

Meg Egan, senior creative at Creature London continues, “This campaign brings a child's imagination to life in all its wonder and then confronts our audience with the shocking realities one in four children face. It has to be one of the most brilliant and also most brutal campaigns that I have ever worked on here at Creature, and we are incredibly proud of it."

The OOH and Digital Creative are the first created using Creature London's new production tool, Magic Ant, in which scenes inspired by children’s imaginations, are starkly juxtaposed with headlines like "Some kids dream of epic battles. Others dream of having their own bed."

Dan Cullen-Shute, Worldwide CEO at Creature, expands, "This is exactly why we launched Magic Ant and Impala, to give organizations that do vital work the chance to create campaigns that match their ambitions in a way they never would have been able to previously. People went above and beyond to make this happen. At every level, from the team at Creature to the incredible lot at Smuggler, Adam Berg, Major Tom, Total Media, the list goes on, people gave away their time, resources, and called in every favour imaginable to make this campaign a reality. It is an example of the amazing work we can do in this industry, and I couldn't be more excited about its impact."

Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, adds, "We could never have imagined that we would be launching a campaign like this when we first started speaking to Creature. Their passion and desire to create something that will make a real difference to so many people have been incredible." Alison continues, "This campaign highlights some of the devastating effects of poverty and gives us the opportunity to highlight the solutions. It doesn’t have to be this way: the solutions to child poverty are clear. We want to raise the bar for what is acceptable for children across the UK. At Child Poverty Action Group, we believe it's time to give children living in poverty a voice and hold those in power accountable."

This campaign has been supported by JCDecaux’s The Community Channel, Posterscope, Alight Media and IQOOH on digital Out-of-Home sites across the UK. PR for Child Poverty Action Group is handled by Edelman.