Marcus Rashford, a 23-year-old international soccer star, grew up in a food insecure home. I’ve followed Rashford because he’s a favorite Manchester United player of my son’s, so I knew about his role in lobbying the British government to roll out its free school meals initiative to include school holidays to prevent children from going without meals. But recently, I couldn’t stop picturing him as a child who relied on free meals, thanks to a powerful animated video he narrated.
Grocery chain powerhouse, Aldi enlisted him to narrate the story, titled “Hunger,” inspired by a poem written by author Giles Andreae. In it, artist Lisa Stickley portrays hunger as a monster that won’t go away. It was created by PR agencyBurson Cohn & Wolfe for Aldi and will run across the brand’s social channels.
Of the project, he said: “Reading the script for the Aldi animation, I felt like I was talking about myself 10 years ago. This story is a reality for millions of children so, of course, I was happy to lend my voice. 2021 is a time to level the playing field once-and-for-all.”
Aldi has pledged to donate 10 million meals to families in need this year after a survey revealed increased food poverty needs through 2021. The research found that 42% of children were skipping meals three times a week, with 14% missing one meal each day.
This is important information, no doubt, but rather than say all of this in a press release or other written communication, rolling it out with the powerful visual story makes it memorable and creates a greater impact.
Don’t miss an opportunity to translate your news and ideas into meaningful visual tools. Put a face to it. Take a cue from Aldi and Rashford!
