A year of COVID campaigns – which ones made you think?

We’ve all got used to seeing them. Over the last year, campaigns encouraging us to think about COVID-19 and how we can keep ourselves and others safe have been everywhere. From TV adverts to lampposts (whenever we’ve managed to venture outside), these messages are a reminder of the strange times we’ve found ourselves in.

But have they worked? Have these campaigns made people think about what they can do to keep themselves and others safe? What about them made them effective? Did they make people laugh or feel disgusted?

Here are some of the campaigns the FaithAction team have found worked well for making them think about things differently, but what about you? Have you seen any campaigns that made you think?

Let us know – either tag us on Twitter @FaithActionnet with your favourite campaign or send us an email ([email protected]).

Act like you’ve got it

This campaign is a reminder about personal responsibility. The simple message reminds us to switch our focus from acting like everyone else has the virus and that we are fine and encourages people to prioritise thinking about their own actions: following government guidance on social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks in enclosed spaces.

Don’t pass coronavirus to those you love

This video from the Scottish government took a particularly shocking approach to highlighting just how easy it is to pass on the virus to others, even those we want to keep safe, if we don’t follow precautions.

Keep the loo roll going

A reminder of other concerns we had at the beginning of the first lockdown (when toilet rolls were in short supply!), this was a fun challenge that staff and volunteers from one of FaithAction’s partner organisations, LifeLine Projects, got involved with last spring. The goal was to celebrate their role in supporting their community through a local initiative that brought together faith and community organisations to respond to the needs of local residents, providing them with food and medicine deliveries and providing a listening ear to those who were feeling lonely or isolated.

Could this be a challenge to bring back now Spring is round the corner?

The Swiss cheese model

Finally, ending on a cheesy note, this infographic shows how just one intervention against the virus isn’t enough. We need to use many different layers of interventions to keep ourselves and others safe.


Were they any campaigns that you felt were particularly effective at reaching faith communities? Do you have any ideas for how future campaigns could be more effective?

We’d love to hear from you!

About Andrew Welsby

Project Officer

Andrew is one of FaithAction’s Project Officers.

Andrew is leading on our Barking and Dagenham Faith Leaders Network, supporting local faith leaders delivering social action projects in their community. He also supports hubs on our Cafe Connect programme, helping new arrivals from Hong Kong.

Andrew has also been involved in project managing our Community Champions Programme, directly recruiting and working with our Community Champions. He was part of the Faith COVID Response Project, arranging focus groups and becoming the team’s go-to person on the places of worship guidance.