Pret A Manger 'Opening Doors'

Directed by Matthew Barton In 2016 at Rumble we had the opportunity to be involved in a different kind of Christmas advert. Over a period of eight months, our director Matthew Barton worked closely with the team at Pret A Manger’s charity ‘The Pret Foundation’ documenting the company’s Apprenticeship Scheme. The scheme offers the homeless a ladder back into society, supporting the apprentices each step of the way back to a more stable life. The film became this year’s centrepiece for Pret’s Christmas campaign and it reached over 1 million views on Facebook within the first two weeks after its release; the continuing number of positive comments online has been overwhelming. The campaign ‘Opening Doors’ not only gives an insight into the problem of homelessness in the UK but also teaches us about corporate responsibility and how big brands can have a positive impact and can help to find lasting solutions for re-entering individuals into society. During the course of the eight months director Matthew Barton spent on the documentary, he was able to film the scheme's apprentices over an extensive amount of time and build strong, lasting relationships with the apprentices, the charities community and the staff members.