This week we look at a Halloween campaign from Diabetes UK, how cats have taken over Twitter, and The Stroke Association’s campaign for #NationalStrokeDay.

Diabetes UK launches Halloween themed video

Diabetes UK is encouraging people to #DressDiabolical for Halloween and wear their most terrifying outfits to raise money for the charity.

For its first non-active mass participation event, the charity is targeting offices, schools and colleges, and people have been sharing pictures of their Halloween costumes with the hashtag #DressDiabolical.

It has released a video filmed in the charity’s headquarters in Camden, show what happens when Halloween spirits takes over the workplace. A scary clown, played by Diabetes UK chief executive Chris Askew, terrifies one employee, a pirate’s motley crew threaten one particularly dull meeting, and a Frankenstein’s monster delivers sickening food around the office.

As well as promoting sign-ups for the event itself, the video includes the option of texting to donate £5, by texting DUK to 70123.  

The event has already drawn the backing of Tim Burton, the director of ‘Beetlejuice’, ‘Edward Scissorhands’ and ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’.

He said: “The strange picture of ghosts, goblins, pirates and vampires walking the streets of the UK appeals to me on many levels. That it’s to raise money for a good cause is even better. I hope everyone gets creative, and that Dress Diabolical is a big success, raising plenty of money for Diabetes UK.”

Why we love it: The campaign taps into Halloween and people's love for dressing up this time of year, while encouraging people to donate to the cause and raise awareness of diabetes. The video also puts a lighthearted spin on an otherwise heavy topic.

#BlackCatDay

Yesterday was National Cat Day, but it was not only cat charities who got involved. As well as vast numbers of celebrities sharing images of their prized pets, Cats Protection helped draw the attention back to the well-being of the cats in question and the work that they do by encouraging people to donate to them and adopt their cats.

Ahead of Halloween, they supported #BlackCatDay which took place earlier in the week, and created a video to dispel some misconceptions around black cats – particularly that they are “not magical”, “not friends with Harry Potter”, “not bad luck”, and “not bad for selfies”.

Prostate Cancer UK also got involved with #NationalCatDay by sharing this tweet.

 

Why we love it: Everyone know that the internet loves cats, so jumping on a hashtag that was always going to be top trend is a great way to raise awareness of a charity's cause.

#WorldStrokeDay

Running on the same day as National Cat Day was National Stroke Day (apparently no relation). Public Health England, in partnership with The Stroke Association, released a new film as part of its existing Act FAST campaign, which was started in 2009. Since the campaign was first launched, an additional 41,382 people have got to hospital within the vital three-hour window, meaning that those affected by stroke receive the immediate medical treatment required.

The animated film, titled Every Minute Counts, shows two parallel stories of what happens to a man when he has a stroke – in one side his family react straight away, calling an ambulance where he is then able to get the help he needs and make an almost complete recovery. The other story shows the man struggling with his symptoms later in life as his family did not react in time. The video’s tagline is “The faster you act, the more of a person you save”.

The Stroke Association is also running its Give A Hand To Conquer Stroke campaign this week, tweeting with the hashtags ‘GiveAHandWeek and #ConquerStroke. People have been tweeting images of themselves ‘giving a hand’.

The Act FAST campaign:
Face – has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?
Arms – can they raise both their arms and keep them there?
Speech – is their speech slurred?
Time – time to call 999 if you see any single one of these signs

Why we love it: The video is both emotional and informative, helping to raise awareness of how people should react when they encounter someone having a stroke. While the #GiveAHand campaign allows people to interact on social media and share the great work they are doing.