Campaign of the year - Third Sector Awards

The 20th Anniversary Campaign #‎warpaint4life we created for Look Good Feel Better UK has won campaign of the year at the Third Sector Awards #TSAawards. We are delighted that it has been so well received.

Self-esteem is important and relevant to all women, it just happens to be in sharper focus for those who have cancer. The #‎warpaint4life campaign helps to show that with the help of Look Good Feel Better, the perfect shade of blush, learning how to draw on missing brows and lashes or a bold lipstick can help women to face cancer with confidence.

The stars of the campaign brought to life by fashion photographer Josh Van Gelder are the models; Suzanne, Maria, Ellie and Kreena, all real women, all of whom have benefited from a Look Good Feel Better workshop. 

Well done Suzanne, Maria, Ellie, Kreena, everyone involved in the campaign - before, during and after it launched and to the fantastic media owners who donated space for it to be seen.

Thanks to your generosity, skills and expertise over 38 million people have seen our campaign and this exposure continues to help spread awareness of the unique way we support women and teenagers struggling through their cancer treatment across the UK.

See the full campaign here.

#WARPAINT4LIFE

Look Good Feel Better has today launched their exciting 20th Anniversary Advertising Campaign to highlight their important, relevant and inclusive Programme, helping women and teenagers combat the visible side effects of cancer treatment through free confidence-boosting skincare and make-up workshops across the UK.  The campaign was created outside of work hours, free of charge by an extremely talented group of people.  

20 years is an important milestone for Look Good Feel Better and they needed a campaign which would enable them to take advantage of donated advertising space and that would also encapsulate the importance of make-up and positive self-image, particularly for women who are going through cancer treatment.

The result is a campaign created by 7after6, a collective of seven women, all working within the advertising industry, with a shared passion and one ultimate goal; to create great creative work for an even greater good.  They came together, out of hours, away from their day jobs to work at no cost with Look Good Feel Better to reach out to all women, with or without cancer, all over the UK.

Self-esteem is important and relevant to all women, it just happens to be in sharper focus for those who have cancer.  The #warpaint4life campaign celebrates the power of ‘beauty’ and how, with the help of Look Good Feel Better, the perfect shade of blush, learning how to draw on missing brows and lashes or a bold lipstick can help women to face cancer with confidence.

To feel confident, in control and empowered in life is every woman’s right and Look Good Feel Better exists to make sure that cancer doesn’t take that away.

7after6 says; “We believe that every woman has the right to feel powerful, beautiful and confident.  A desire to look good is not just about vanity, it’s about inner strength.  Look Good Feel Better helps women living with cancer to be who they were before the illness. This campaign is a body of work designed to create awareness by engaging all women with an insightful and relevant message that evokes empathy, camaraderie and support. Beauty isn’t just beauty, it’s #warpaint4life.”

The campaign was then brought to life by photographer, Josh Van Gelder, producer, Andrea Blood, make-up artist, Caroline Barnes, stylist, Pippa Edwards, hair and wigs, Bjorn Kriscker - all of whom donated their time. A ‘behind the scenes’ film was generously created by Lucy Blakstad.

Sarahjane Robertson, LGFB Executive Director says; “I can’t put into words our gratitude to everyone who has made this eye-catching and thought-provoking campaign possible.  In our 20th year we look forward to finding everyone’s ‘#warpaint4life’ item – that bold lipstick or transformative outfit – thank you.”

The stars of the campaign are the models; Suzanne, Maria, Ellie and Kreena, all real women who are living with cancer, all who have benefited from a Look Good Feel Better workshop.

You use it to face the day
We use it to face cancer

Suzanne - “I want people to see me as Suzanne, not cancer, I’m not cancer, I want to blend in when I go out.  Make-up is my warpaint, it sets me up for the day and allows me to be Suzanne.”

Kreena – “Make-up is like a coat of armour, we’re painting it on to be normal, but when you have cancer, it’s even more of a battle, so that little bit of armour becomes essential and crucial to your daily activity.”

Maria – “Before I was diagnosed I didn’t wear a lot of make-up, but my lipstick was my power, my warpaint.  If I was going to a meeting or if I wanted to cheer myself up, I’d put on a bright red lipstick. Now post cancer, eyebrow pencil is my warpaint.”

Ellie – “You try to be as normal as possible, that’s the main thing, to be normal and make-up has the power to do that.”

Watch the behind the scenes video >>

Look Good Feel Better Shoot

Look Good Feel Better first approached us in January looking for a new outdoor and press campaign. The charity works internationally to provide support for women suffering from the visible side effects of cancer treatments, helping them regain their self-esteem and a sense of normality. When our group of seven met after six one dark night in Soho a few months ago to discuss the opportunity to work on such a great cause together, it was hard to imagine that it was only the beginning of what was to become 7 after 6 and the conception of a campaign we are all going to be proud of. 

After two months of meticulous planning, six of us (the seventh now based in New York) found ourselves together on a sunny Saturday morning in East London at our first campaign photo shoot. Our photographer was the incredible Josh van Gelder, who had kindly offered both his talent and use of his studio. Sarahjane, Feeder Extraordinaire and Executive Director of LGFB and her team had brought together an extraordinary group of people in support of our campaign. This talented group included make-up artist Caroline Barnes, hair stylist Bjorn Krishker and stylist Pip Edwards who worked tirelessly throughout the day to ensure our beautiful models, Kreena, Ellie, Suzanne and Maria looked, and most of all felt, their very best in front of the camera. Their positivity and confidence make them the perfect ambassadors for our campaign.

Our models were either in the middle of or at the end of chemotherapy and Josh was brilliant in the way he encouraged them to feel comfortable in front of the camera. This made Nikki's job as creative director of 7 after 6 a lot easier although we had a harder task narrowing down the selection of photos... the camera loved our ladies! Making the most of our time together on the set we were able to arrange a creative breakout session to further the campaign and generate some exciting social and digital ideas. It also meant we were able to chat to our ladies and gain valuable insight into how they felt about Look Good Feel Better and about the campaign they were about to star in.

On that amazing day, 24 people came together and donated their services. There was a real buzz on set which only happens when you have a group of people who are all genuinely excited to be part of something special.

- Isobel Nelson

Why we do what we do

At some point in everyone's career we play the ' If we could put together a dream team of people who would be in it' game. Often we will have been confronted with a brief where we've thought, 'if only 'x' was here to bring their experience to it'. I have been fortunate to work with some amazing talent over the years so when an opportunity arose where I could  put together a team that would bring energy, diversity of thinking and creative expertise, I knew where to look. Some of the team had worked together in the past and enjoyed the experience, some hadn't met yet but I knew they'd get on. All of us are working successfully in agencies but what we all recognised was there was still a way to work with other like minded people for worthwhile causes and an opportunity for us all to give generously of our own time and different skills. We work out of hours and our employers gave us permission because they all recognised that it was great for individual personal development and ultimately good PR. It 's win win. And as we progress and we already producing work to be proud of, more and more people have approached us to get involved. For now though, we are 7 people working hard after 6pm (from the most diverse locations) and weekends, on stuff we are passionate about. And enjoying every minute of it.

- Jo Smith

So what does  7 after 6 mean to us?

Jo Smith
7 after 6 is like - minded creative talent from across all advertising communications disciplines, working together in our own time; no petty jealousies, no politics, deeply respectful of each other's unique set of skills, learning from one another and bringing energy and a diversity of thought. All with a single minded desire to create the very best work at no cost for the benefit of good causes. A passion to get the job done with a real sense of purpose. It's more fun than just going down the pub. 

Sian Hughes
The opportunity to work with similar minded people doing something I enjoy while learning new processes and skills and expanding my network, all topped off by doing it for a good cause and having fun with a glass of wine or two. 

Nikki Scott
7 after 6 is an 'after school club' for the creatively driven. A network of diverse skills with one shared goal; creating great work for the even greater good. An initiative, where we can collectively pour our passions into and bring an innovative perspective to whichever project that grabs our attention.

Isobel Nelson
As a relative newcomer to the advertising industry I welcome any opportunity to learn and 7 after 6 has been the perfect after-work opportunity to collaborate with a group of enthusiastic and talented friends on projects we really feel passionate about. I think ultimately 7 after 6 works because we share the opinion that anyone is capable of coming up with a good idea and collectively we’re able to draw on our individual skills to bring these ideas to life regardless of our job description.

Natasha Markley
We are a lively consortium of advertising experts, meeting after hours to make a difference for businesses in need. To do good. Our passion is like caffeine - it's what makes this all possible. We all work exclusively in our own time and blend our capabilities with our little black books to make stuff happen for those who deserve some TLC (tender loving communications!). 

Jenn and Gina aka Goon and Croth
Being a creative team means we get excited about good creative work. 7 after 6 is an idea we’re excited to be part of. The creative freedom we have and  being in this group means we’re surrounding ourselves with passionate people with the same energy and goals as us. Personally for us it’s about working with some of the best creative talent in the industry, collaborating and meeting esteemed creative professionals in addition to the people we work with day to day. When it comes down to it, great work comes from passion and drive - and what shows passion better than 7 women meeting after 6 to work on exciting projects together?