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More than 4.2 million people in the UK are struggling with hygiene poverty, going without essential personal care products like toothpaste, shampoo, soap and sanitary items because they cannot afford them.

As the cost of living crisis continues, grassroots charity The Hygiene Bank and ACNE tackled this social injustice with a powerful interactive digital out-of-home campaign which addressed both the problem and the need for public donations.

Called ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’, the idea was a winner in Ocean’s 2023 annual Digital Creative Competition which fosters bold, original ideas in out of home.

Because traditional charity ads are often overlooked, ACNE chose bright, cheerful opening frames to attract public attention. Both intimate and surprising to draw passersby in, three different films were then used to deliver crucial messages about the harrowing effects of hygiene poverty on people’s health and well-being.

The trigger for each film was Ocean’s Lookout and sound technology, with floor vinyls directing passersby to stop and interact with the screens. The work ended by asking for donations to local hygiene banks.

Supported by Unilever and Boots, the campaign appeared across four Ocean locations in Birmingham and Manchester, with supporting media on The Loop networks and two large format screens. Wider activity ran on The Hygiene Bank’s social channels.

This idea puts the consumer / audience journey front and centre, using technology at every step. Ocean's competition judges liked the intimate directional use of sound in an out of home setting and said they would be more inclined to stop and look at this rather than stopping to talk to a person.