Home > News > Content Partnerships > McCain and Sky Media launch animated series, narrated by David Walliams bringing to life stories of families who have been helped by Family Fund
McCain and Family Fund premiere ‘Teatime Tales’, a series of animated films, narrated by renowned children’s author David Walliams. The films focus on the stories of three children Benjamin, Anjola and Maddie, who have been helped by Family Fund, to reveal the importance of the little moments together as a family such as coming together at mealtimes.
The animated films are illustrated in order to bring the family stories to life in an engaging and entertaining way that respects the need for flexible production in light of Covid precautions. Visually, the illustrations are highly creative, making it easier to digest as well as appealing to every family member and help to illustrate the importance of mealtimes as a key opportunity for families to come together over food. By telling the personal stories of children and reflecting on a variety of family experiences, the use of illustration is a softer approach to the stories being told.
Developed by Sky Media, produced by Sky Commercial Productions, and animated by Art&Graft, the series of 60” animated films will air at teatime across Sky Media’s family content and channels, on both linear TV and VoD. A 30” cut down version of the 60” TVC will also be aired using addressable technology, through AdSmart from Sky, to reach families across select channels. Teatime Tales will help to raise awareness of leading childhood disability charity Family Fund, an organisation that provides grants and services to families raising disabled or seriously ill children.
By targeting family viewing across Sky Media’s channel portfolio, each of the films shows the different ways that Family Fund grants can benefit disabled or seriously ill children. From a games console with an adaptable controller for Benjamin (8) who has cerebral palsy; to a trampoline that helps Maddie (13) with physio needed for Sanfilippo syndrome; and a computer for Anjola (15) who has autism; each tells a heartwarming story.
The grants provide the families with essential items to help their day-to-day lives and spend more time together, such as during mealtimes, enabling them to take time for the little moments. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected these families, and the ongoing partnership between McCain and Family Fund aims to offer support and take meaningful action so families can enjoy the little moments that matter.
Mark Hodge, Marketing Director at McCain, commented: “McCain know the impact a Family Fund grant can have for families. By bringing these benefits to life through the lens of the child who receives, there is an added emotional power that we hope will further increase awareness of the great work that Family Fund do. Each grant has huge potential to transform the lives of these children and their families to be able to spend more quality moments together.
Running in parallel with our new McCain and Family Fund advert, Teatime Tales provides a platform for the voices of children and families who will be helped by Family Fund and the funding from McCain so they can reveal the importance of mealtimes moments together as a family. It allows us to maximise our messaging with the Sky family audience and hopefully encourage as many people as possible to consider joining us in supporting Family Fund, in whatever way they can, so that more families have a heartwarming tale to tell.”
Cheryl Ward, Chief Executive of Family Fund, said: “Family life is busy and finding moments together at the best of times is often not easy. When raising a disabled or seriously ill child these moments can be even more fleeting. The uplifting stories of Benjamin, Anjola and Maddie showcase just a few of the many ways a Family Fund grant can help families like theirs to enjoy the little moments that matter to them. We’re thrilled that, through our partnership with McCain and through the creative lens of Teatime Tales, we can raise awareness of the extra support families raising disabled children need, how our work makes a difference, and give a snapshot into the everyday lives of families. “
Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, said: “Teatime and TV are at the heart of family time; bringing households together to share great viewing or dining experiences. We’re delighted to partner with McCain and Family Fund to create content helping engage families all over the country through a heartwarming series of stories brought to life by the voice of one of the UK’s most loved stars.”
This partnership with Sky Media, brokered by Omnicom Media Group’s PHD, comes as part of the McCain Little Moments campaign, which launched at the start of April with a primetime TV advert, featuring six real-life families from around the UK who have been helped by Family Fund. To coincide with the advert going live, McCain and Family Fund also released the McCain Nation’s Conversations “Mealtimes For All” Report, exploring how mealtimes for families raising disabled children have been affected during the pandemic.
The campaign is the fourth instalment of the ‘We are Family’ series which aims to champion real life British families and re-dress the misrepresentation of families in popular culture. The new advert also follows the recently announced £1 million pledge from McCain to Family Fund, which will help support the charity’s goal to provide 150,000 grants and services per year to families raising disabled or seriously ill children.
As part of the £1 million pledge announcement, McCain launched a limited-edition run of packs of McCain Home Chips, designed by an art competition winner Charlie Conway (10). Charlie, who has autism and a brain injury, lives in Bradford with his parents who have been supported by Family Fund over the years.
For further information on the Family Fund and McCain partnership and ways to donate, please visit www.mccainfamilyfund.co.uk.
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