Scope - Spirit Film : Don't Hold Back

Scope, a charity dedicated to achieving equality for disabled people, approached Gusto after seeing our work for Whizz Kidz's ‘The Real Difference’ campaign. Scope needed a powerful film to embody their new positioning—’Creating equal futures, with disabled people’—and launch their bold brand refresh.

The film aimed to deliver Scope's new message, using The Chemical Brothers' track ‘Galvanize’ to encapsulate the spirit of the campaign. Scope wanted to represent a diverse range of disabilities, highlighting the real challenges that disabled people face without portraying them as superheroes. The goal was to amplify authentic voices and experiences while striking a balance between showcasing challenges and celebrating empowerment.

We collaborated closely with Scope to ensure their message hit home with a broad audience while staying true to the lived experiences of disabled people. Scope's creative vision featured disabled actors singing and signing along to ‘Galvanize’ while facing everyday barriers - like judgmental stares or an obstructed path. These scenes needed to be deeply authentic, based on real experiences, while echoing the brand messages which were carried through the song lyrics.

“When I heard that opening record scratch sample, it hit like a blow to the stomach - I knew we could leverage that to grab people’s attention. It was the perfect opener to amplify the “What’s wrong with you then?” line from the leary bus driver. Those beats that kick in after then really embody that sense of getting back up and brushing off the dust.” - Blake, Director

After creative workshops with Scope, we developed the characters and scenes to align the visuals with the empowering lyrics of the song. Director Blake Claridge led the casting process, interviewing potential cast members to understand their day-to-day experiences, which directly shaped the narrative. This approach resulted in genuine portrayals, with actors like Fats Timbo (comedian, presenter and podcaster) and Tylan Grant (actor from Hollyoaks) contributing valuable insights from their personal experiences.

“This was the second commercial we had filmed this year with a disability charity, so we understood that the best way to work out how to approach things correctly was to speak to the disabled people themselves. So in a way, I used the casting process to research as well and that’s where the whole intro bus scene came from, as Em, our actor who is hard of hearing, told me about the ludicrous nature of regularly being questioned about their Freedom Pass.” - Blake, Director

The two-day shoot took place close to Scope's HQ in Stratford, with each location transformed through thoughtful art direction to fit different scenarios. The wardrobe and art department embellished each scene using colours tied to Scope's brand identity, adding vibrancy and visual cohesion throughout the film.

“The tone of this film needed to be bright, optimistic and punchy. Yes it’s about the challenges but it’s more about the attitude of the characters in their daily overcoming of them. So colour palette wise I was reaching for a lot of warm sunlight on set, with art dept complimenting the frame with bright blues, pinks, and teal… filling it out to be a pretty joyful spectrum.” - Tom Staniford, DP, Creative Director

The brand film launched across Scope’s website, social media, and digital channels, along with three cutdowns for OOH advertising nationwide. The campaign successfully communicated Scope's refreshed mission and captured the audience's attention, gathering overwhelmingly positive feedback from the disabled community.