We were briefed to support Barnardo’s ATL campaign: a direct appeal to help disadvantaged children. We wanted to get them genuinely interested in the bigger conversation, so instead of creating ads, we wanted to create a cultural artifact; something of real significance. 

Given the December campaign period, we decided to give young people a unique opportunity to address the nation at Christmas. We called it The Teens’ Speech and engaged 13-19 year-olds online and off, from across the UK, using MySpace and YouTube’s superusers to spark debate. Further research and debate came together in a blog where adult Britain could follow the journey. 

The final film - premiered on the front page of MySpace - was a collection of diverse young opinions and lives, offering the rest of Britain a brutally honest glimpse at the future through the eyes of those destined to inherit and define it. This contextualised Barnardo’s message, highlighting the importance of empowering young people to lead happy, successful lives.

It's a testament to the credibility and significance of the project that we received nearly 90,000 views for the final film (nearly 200,000 in total) and that Myspace and Facebook gave us front page placements all without spending a penny on media.