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Exposing the government’s weasel words over international aid
Following Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the then chancellor Rishi Sunak promised to offer financial support to Ukraine, but the offer was not as generous as it appeared.
The client
Save the children: Help children change their future for good
The challenge
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, chancellor Rishi Sunak said “We are with Ukraine and its people at this difficult time” as he pledged financial support for the country.
But behind the headlines, there was a catch: this wasn’t new money he was promising, it would come from existing aid budgets.
These were budgets that had been cut from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5% during the pandemic.
At the same time, the cost of grain had risen by 80% as a direct consequence of the invasion, meaning millions of people faced starvation and Somalia was on the brink of famine.
The solution
89up held a rapid-response brainstorm session and identified that Sunak was hoping he could bury the detail in the small print. Because of Sunak’s political choices, the world’s poorest people faced being buried by the small print.
Within a week, we developed a creative strategy, designed visual assets, and placed a full-page ad in the Times with a message aimed directly at the Chancellor.
We then worked with our international partners to secure ad space in Japan, Canada, Germany, Italy and the UK calling on G7 leaders to pledge money to feed those facing starvation.
