# Macmillan’s DRTV ad recruits 50,000 hosts for World’s Biggest Coffee Morning

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/07/11/macmillan039s-drtv-ad-recruits-50000-hosts-world039s-biggest-coffee-morning/
- Published: 2013-07-11T17:08:32+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Macmillan Cancer Support's first DRTV commercial for the World's Biggest Coffee 
Morning helped the charity acquire 50,000 new hosts. It helped take total donations
for the event from £10 million in 2011 to £15,007,000 in 2012, an increase of over
50%.

[Magneto Films](http://www.magnetofilms.com/what-we-do/case-study-1) working with
fundraising agency Burnett Works to create an advert with a documentary approach.
Although Macmillan usually uses actors in its adverts, this advert feature a real
family. Jo, Karin and their monther Val live in Essex and hold a coffee morning 
every year in memory of Val's husband, Pete.

## Two versions of the advert

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There are two versions of the advert: one delivers more brand messages about Macmillan,
the other focusses on the pleasure of getting together and making time for what 
really matters.

In the more heavily branded version, the family talk about how important Macmillan
were to them when Pete had cancer.

The ad has been screened since early June 2012 and Magneto put its success down 
to the fact that it featured real people telling their own story.

Magneto's Senior Producer Gaby Jeffs said: "We are delighted that the campaign has
done so well for Macmillan.  We think one of the reasons our Coffee Morning advert
was so successful is that it modelled the behaviour that we were asking our target
audience to adopt, some hosts even went as far as placing a photo of their loved
one amongst the cakes and cups. 

"Also featuring a real family meant that we were able to convey a genuine experience
which resonated with our target audience."

The TV ad contributed to a 127% increase in pack registrations to 118,000, with 
an estimated 5 million people attending.

The World's Biggest Coffee Morning DRTV advert received an IVCA Clarion Highly Commended
Award 2012 for Best Charity Ad, and was shortlisted for an Institute of Fundraising
National Award this year. In addition delegates at last week's Institute of Fundraising
National Convention in London voted the whole World’s Biggest Coffee Morning campaign
as the "most world changing fundraising" campaign.

 

[Macmillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning DRTV advert (light branding)](http://vimeo.com/48941098)
from [Magneto Films](http://vimeo.com/user3770365) on [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com).

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