Hard-hitting ads aiming to feed hungry Londoners launches at Piccadilly Lights.
Integrated independent agency, The Maverick Group, has unveiled its latest work for food charity, The Felix Project, with a campaign that makes hunger visible.
The fourth annual winter campaign created by the Maverick team delivers a brand-new concept, shifting away from the Empty Plate Appeal which successfully ran from 2022-2024. The 2025 campaign is designed to reignite awareness and inspire action, with one clear goal; to raise vital funds to feed hungry Londoners, especially the thousands of children who go without food every single day.
The campaign aims to combat the staggering situation that thousands of children in London will go hungry every day this winter, with families grappling to put food on the table. Every £20 raised will deliver 54 meals via The Felix Project’s community organisations.
Explaining the concept, Jamie Bell, Executive Creative Director at The Maverick Group, said: “Unlike many societal issues, hunger is often invisible. So, our mission was to change that. To not only make the problem visible, but impossible to ignore. To do this, we put children at the heart of the campaign, not just as subjects, but as the voice of the message itself. Through powerful, high-impact lines placed directly on the children, we expose the daily reality of food poverty, of skipped meals, silent struggles, and the devastating emotional and physical toll of hunger.”
Maverick’s approach gives children a platform to speak for themselves; they are not just part of the idea; they become the media. By making hunger seen in this way, the aim is to deliver a campaign that creates action and not just empathy.
The campaign relied heavily on the use of AI to create the images and movement of the children, providing a level of anonymity to children who are often stigmatised for being in food poverty.
Jamie added: “As someone who grew up on an East London council estate, I saw firsthand what hunger does to children. In one of the wealthiest cities in the world, that simply shouldn’t be happening. With this campaign, we want people not just to see Felix’s message, but to feel it. It’s a campaign that should hit you in the gut.”
Tanya Mitchell, Chief Income Generation and Marketing Officer at The Felix Project, said: “This year’s campaign brought a tear to my eye and will no doubt ensure millions more meals will be funded through donations. The Maverick Group’s approach, which deploys AI to illustrate our beneficiaries, is an incredibly creative and respectful way to convoy our critical message – we can’t wait to see it light up Piccadilly this week.
“As the cost of living crisis endures we know that 1 in 3 UK working parents have struggled to afford feed their children in the last 12 months and 1 in 7 say it a regular occurrence. That is around 1.1 million families, so we cannot underestimate how vital this campaign will be.”
The Maverick Group’s previous creative campaigns have garnered huge success, scooping two industry award wins, alongside another 12 additional award nominations. Most significantly, Maverick’s pro-bono campaigns have raised close to £1.5m for the charity – equating to around 4 million meals.
Carron Edmonds, Chairwoman of The Maverick Group, said: “We are fiercely passionate about giving back and the fact that we get to do that with our work with The Felix Project once again is a real privilege. Our team has delivered a thought-provoking and impactful campaign, which we are confident will encourage donations from across the city in the weeks ahead.”
The Felix Project Winter Appeal launches at Piccadilly Lights on Thursday 16 October and will run across digital, social and various OOH executions.
