Last month, as part of a process to introduce a new creative team to the RNLI's work, a few of us were lucky enough to go on an RNLI Hit the Surf day. It's designed to develop beach safety awareness, and is taken around the country and attended by school groups – so there is a big element of fun involved!

The day started off at Sandbanks beach, in Dorset, where we were introduced to the lifeguard team and enjoyed a training session on the meanings of beach safety flags and hazards – interspersed with stories of heroism, stupidity and tragedy. We then took a stroll along the beach and were shown their equipment, which included a comprehensive first aid kit and impressive rescue watercraft. A first-aid demo was given at the end of the morning session.

After lunch on the beach, the real fun began.

Unfortunately, following a frightening incident with a rubber ring and general ineptitude in water, I excused myself from the afternoon activities. Instead I was loaded up with everyone else's cameras and bottled water - no pockets in wetsuits! The warm-up session included a race won by Mark Roper – and afterwards they went into the surf for practise dolphin-diving, body surfing, relay races and tube rescues. It all looked like salty good fun!

To end the day we were given goodie bags of t-shirts and certificates. It was a brilliant day out and I learnt that a lifeguard’s job isn't just about running around looking good in a wetsuit (although, that is an important part of it). They take what they do very seriously and are so dedicated you can't help but respect and admire them.

Speaking of looking good in a wetsuit...

Nice one Mark!

Steve Tse

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The RSPCA are commonly known for the great work they do with cats and dogs but some people don't realise they care for all animals - including horses.

This week we launched an integrated campaign to help the RSPCA raise funds to cover the cost of rehabilitating the 140 horses, ponies and donkeys rescued from Spindles Farm, near Amersham last year, which you may have read about in the press. The investigation and prosecution has been one of the RSPCA's biggest ever, and the cost of providing care and treatment for the animals has been over £850,000. Officers from World Horse Welfare, Redwings Horse Sanctuary, The Horse Trust, vets and Thames Valley Police worked alongside the RSPCA in very difficult conditions to rescue and care for the surviving animals from the terrible scene.

Our campaign includes DRTV and online as well as press ads and was co-ordinated to tie-in with editorial coverage of the court's verdict and sentencing. All elements of the campaign therefore needed to be turned around at high speed because of the short-term nature of broadcast news.

Like our Biggest Animal Rescue campaign, the DRTV ad is fronted by the RSPCA's Chief Officer Inspectorate Tim Wass. It also features RSPCA Inspector Kirsty Hampton, who was first on the scene at Amersham and who describes how many of the animals had little food or dry bedding and were crammed into pens ankle-deep in their own faeces. Other horses had simply been left to die where they fell.

It's an upsetting case but clearly demonstrates the unique nature of RSPCA and why there will always be a need for them. Why don't you take a look at the ad for yourselves?

Hayley Canning

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:32 AM | Permalink

A few weeks ago I went to the Multiple Sclerosis Awards – a celebration of the best in the MS community held by our client the MS Society. It was an inspiring afternoon, hearing about the amazing achievements of people living with MS and the great work of the Society.

The event kicked off with the award for 'MS Inspiration 2009' – won by Anne Dunham. Anne was diagnosed with MS when she was 27 and started to compete in dressage aged 40. She has won 12 golds and countless silver and bronze medals at the Paralympics.

Other winners included 15 year old Patsy Peebles (pictured below with Tain) who picked up the award for Campaign of the Year for her work to raise awareness of teenage MS.

The awards were a fun afternoon out and a chance to drink champagne with the likes of Moira Stewart, but most of all a real reminder of why we do what we do at Whitewater – raise funds for amazing charities like the MS Society.

Alex Wordsworth

Posted by Whitewater Team at 03:33 PM | Permalink

The new campaign targets donors who have become frustrated with food aid and the dependency it has created in Africa. FARM-Africa's new proposition fully reflects their dynamic brand and the strength of their simple approach: Help farm Africa. Created by Whitewater, who won the work in a two-way pitch, the campaign carves out a new positioning for FARM-Africa and shows that by investing in agriculture, donors can fight the food crisis and help poor families to feed themselves.

The new recruitment proposition will be tested in inserts, with two creative executions 'Fight hunger. FARM-Africa' and 'This isn't a developing world. This is.' Recognising that FARM-Africa cannot compete with better known development charities, donors will be recruited on a cash ask and provided with evidence of success before being asked to commit to a regular gift. At http://www.farmafrica.org.uk/proof
www.farmafrica.org.uk/proof donors can view videos of families farming effectively.

This is a new approach for FARM-Africa, which has based previous recruitment on the mass market proposition of £27 buys a goat, with Michael Palin as the figurehead. While recruitment was highly successful, evidence suggests that once donors had bought their goat, they felt they had done their bit and didn't go on to support on a more regular basis.

Rachel Beckett, Direct Marketing Manager, FARM-Africa said, "People are increasingly aware that the long term solutions to hunger start with working with communities to build their own skills to feed themselves. This insert campaign recognises the public's understanding that Africa's farmers want to build their own futures not just be the recipients of aid."

Francesca Boardman, Head of Copy at Whitewater said, "In this campaign, FARM-Africa is not afraid to confront the issues surrounding aid head on. They show that Africa's people are not passive helpless victims, but determined people who can feed their families with the right kind of help."

Posted by Whitewater Team at 03:47 PM | Permalink