The Gift That Keeps on Living: Saatchi & Saatchi's campaign for The British Heart Foundation

'The Gift That Keeps on Living' is a campaign that takes a different approach to most festive advertising, instead highlighting how valuable a donation to the BHF can be. It centres on a couple on Christmas day and celebrates the joy of embracing the small things, initially comically remembering all the things each wasn't supposed to do before shifting the tone to reveal the campaign's deeper message.

The creative shows the impact that living with a heart condition can have on loved ones and urges viewers to donate to the BHF, knowing how the organisation works to instil hope among those affected.

Inspired by real experiences shared by people living with heart conditions, the festive creative shares appreciation for being able to share precious moments with loved ones while they still can. Though this time of year is typically associated with gifting, few think to donate to charity. Yet donations to the BHF fund critical medical research which supports more people with heart conditions and allows them to enjoy more Christmases with loved ones.

"We wanted the film to reflect on the human value of the scientific research that the BHF does as we ask for donations at a difficult financial time for everyone," says Saatchi & Saatchi CCO Franki Goodwin. "For a story this simple, we knew we needed to work with a director who could tell it quietly in order to bring to life the emotional weight behind it. Molly's work - which we saw at our New Creators' Showcase earlier this year - immediately came to mind, and we're so pleased she was up for the challenge."

Saatchi & Saatchi worked with the BHF's Patient and Public Panel and spoke to several people living with heart conditions, including their nearest, conducting interviews throughout pre-production and weaving anecdotes and insights into the film's script.

Helmed by director Molly Burdett – featured in this year's Saatchi & Saatchi's New Creators' Showcase, which screened at Cannes and Margate – the campaign will run across TV, VOD, digital, social and radio.

Damion Mower from the British Heart Foundation says, "At Christmas, we usually gift material things. But for this festive season, we're asking people to give the gift of a longer life to people with heart conditions by helping to fund our ground-breaking research. 'The gift that keeps on living' perfectly encapsulates both the real experiences our survivors and their families have kindly shared with us and the life-changing impact of donations. We hope we can continue to make more Christmases possible as a result."