±±¾©Èü³µpk10

Nationwide Building Society has launched an anti-bullying campaign, “The power of words”, to mark its three-year partnership with The Diana Award.

Devised by VCCP London, the campaign’s flagship TV spot is set in a school hall. Children walk on and off the main stage as a poem detailing individual experiences is spoken over the top of the footage.

The voiceover was created by the schoolchildren themselves and arranged by poet Mike Garry.

One couplet details a young girl’s experience: “They pretended to be my friend at first, started with jokes and got slowly worse.”

Laura Muse, creative director at VCCP, said: “The partnership and the ‘voices’ approach were a perfect fit and reinforce why we love working with Nationwide. They’re a brand with doing what’s right at the heart of everything they do."

According to Censuswide research, 24,000 children miss school every day due to bullying and the ad details that Nationwide will be putting 10,000 anti-bullying ambassadors in schools nationwide to combat this issue.

The anti-bullying ambassadors will be trained in 660 primary schools in the UK.

Sara Bennison, Nationwide chief product and marketing officer, said it was “heartbreaking” to hear from children who have had their lives blighted by bullying.

She added: “The Diana Award team have made some inspirational strides to put an end to bullying and we hope our support can mean that many more children can be protected.

“Thanks to VCCP for handling our new campaign with care and for producing a really important film, which translates what our partnership with The Diana Award is all about.”

Rolling out across TV and social, the ad will debut during the Stand Up 2 Cancer Bake Off, with media planning and buying done by Wavemaker.

Alex Holmes, deputy chief executive of The Diana Award, said: “It’s more important than ever to ensure school is safe and free from harmful bullying behaviour.

“We know [our] peer-to-peer approach works and these young ambassadors are already changing behaviours and shaping attitudes by sending a clear message that bullying isn’t acceptable.”