Raising awareness for mental-health charity Samaritans with a TV commercial for a 2-week campaign.
Mental-health charity Samaritans was looking to produce a 60 second TV advert for C4 VOD across a 2-week campaign in the run-up to the TCS London Marathon, which balanced comedy with the serious message that no one is alone. They needed a company to lead on the entire process – from concept development to final delivery, ensuring the end product was impactful, TV-ready and on-budget.
At Jeruty Films, we developed the script alongside the client. The story followed hero character Leon, struggling to get through the day but supported by his ‘Cheer Squad’, a group of supporters rooting for Leon as he gets through the day.
The cast was a mix of professional actors and Samaritans volunteers, chosen through a casting process led by Jeruty Films. The advert was filmed in one day on location in Stoke-on-trent with a small crew, keeping costs low.
Jeruty Films led the delivery stage, clearing the advert for broadcast and ensuring a safe delivery to Channel 4.
“Jeruty Films clearly set out their vision for the projects and gave a detailed breakdown of the costs without hiding any fees. Developing the projects with Jeruty Films went smoothly, even though the projects were complex and involved many stakeholders. I think what sets Jeruty Films apart from other production companies in my experience is their personal and relaxed approach. They moved at our pace and didn’t put any pressure on us to move faster or make different decisions. The film has been very well-received at Samaritans and across our channels.
Both Anderson and Andy are absolute experts at what they do, and the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”
There was a 14-day VOD run on C4, where it outperformed other Charity VOD campaigns that ran this year. The advert gathered over 1.5 million impressions on the day of the marathon on Boost, and was also screened at train stations and at the marathon.
Samaritans raised over £1.1m, which was four times its usual total from the running event. 2024 was a year for breaking records, with a total of over £73m raised – beating its previous fundraising record of £66.4m, set in 2019.
Learn more about sister company Jeruty Films, and our work with clients like Samaritans, WWF and Activity Alliance.
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