Impero calls on UK businesses to help fight child food poverty

London-based creative agency Impero is calling on businesses to address the alarming growth of child food poverty in the UK with an emotive new ad series.

Launched just ahead of the school holidays, the agency’s new campaign urges businesses to donate one hour of their employees’ salaries to UK food banks, in an attempt to counter child food poverty across the nation.

The Lunch Hour Sacrifice will aim to present a “striking and uncomfortable visual narrative”, depicting the heartbreaking realities of what children in the UK will resort to eating when faced with extreme hunger, including pencil rubbers, mouldy bread, and pet food or even forced into theft.

“My brother-in-law is a primary school teacher, and I was shocked when he shared with me some of the bleak realities of the classroom. I couldn’t believe this was happening in the UK,” said Elliott Starr, creative director at Impero.

“We live in a country of privilege. I work in an industry where, for many, that privilege is greater, still. But check the news, check the facts, it’s harrowing.

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He continued: “This campaign is about shaking people out of complacency. The cost of an employee’s lunch hour isn’t much for a business to donate, but for starving children, it could mean the world,”

The creative – crafted in partnership with food photographer Chelsea Bloxsome and food stylist Liam Baker – features a series of posters which will also appear on social media with closely-cropped images depicting the kind of things children are being forced to eat next to words like “Irresistible”, “Tempting”, “Enticing” and “Appealing”.

Alastair Mills, ECD at Impero added: “We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and yet millions of children go to bed hungry every night. But for most of us, it’s out of sight, out of mind. This campaign isn’t about shaming, it’s about revealing the shocking truth and giving a simple, achievable way to help.

“A lunch hour is something we take for granted, a time when you’re paid to eat, it’s a double privilege, and one that clearly illustrates the difference between the haves and have nots. It’s why we made it central to our campaign to engage businesses to take part.”