Captain Tom 100 success

6th May 2021

Introduction

Following the viral success of The 2.6 Challenge which we helped create in response to the global pandemic, we were thrilled to receive an invitation to support The Captain Tom Foundation. Building on Captain Sir Tom’s legacy of hope, we joined forces with London Marathon, adam&eve DDB and Good Sport (to name a few) to launch a new campaign to raise money for UK charities.


What was The Captain Tom 100?

The #CaptainTom100 took place from April 30th - what would have been Captain Tom’s 101st birthday. It was an accessible and creative opportunity for the nation (and the world) to dream up a personal challenge around the number 100 and raise much needed money for their charity of choice. Although the sun was shining and pubs, cafes and shops were welcoming us back with open arms, the impact of the pandemic on charities of all sizes remained catastrophic and they needed our help to help those most in need.

At a time of great need Captain Tom set out to raise £1,000 for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday. Just 24 days later he had raised a staggering £38.9 million (including Gift Aid). He was the nation’s beacon of hope and his message “Tomorrow will be a good day” resonated around the United Kingdom and the world. Now it was our turn to take up the mantle and begin to build on his legacy.


Our involvement

With a variety of hands-on experience running successful charity campaigns, we were perfectly positioned to apply our insights to this incredible new campaign. Working closely with the Foundation team, we created a brand identity that was respectful of Captain Tom’s globally renowned legacy and appealed to as broad an audience as possible. We then rolled this new identity into an extensive toolkit that charities, business and schools could easily use to excite their supporters, customers and students and inspire as many people as possible to join the event. We also designed and built the central campaign website featuring a live totaliser, showcasing superstar challengers content on social and providing a clear and simple pathways for supporters to donate and fundraise. Bringing Tom’s memory to life through this incredible campaign was no small feat but it’s a project that nearly every member of our team touched and felt incredibly proud to have supported.


Playing our part

To prove we were true #CaptainTom100 supporters, we turned our hands/feet/mouths to a variety of 100-themed challenges to raise money for The Captain Tom Foundation. Although the weekend is over, you can still donate to celebrate our efforts and see our progress here.






Some of the challenge stories...

There have been some incredible challenges carried-out as part of the campaign and these are a few of our favourites.

Gary suffered a severe stroke a few years ago but caught the attention of national press counting to 100 for the very first time as part of the campaign to raise money for the Stroke Association.

Tony survived horrific abuse at the hands of his biological parents as a baby and had to eventually have both his legs amputated as a result. But this incredibly happy little boy has single-handedly raised nearly £68,000 for Evelina London Children's Hospital by taking 100 steps without his crutches!

Students and teachers at St Paul KAASO School in Uganda even got involved with running, jumping, skipping and relay challenges to raise money for the school, making the campaign a truly global weekend of fun.


A word from Captain Tom’s daughter

“We have been overwhelmed by the response to the Captain Tom 100. It's been amazing to see families, friends, neighbours, colleagues, teammates and schoolmates joining together to celebrate and have fun. My father would have watched everyone’s challenges with awe and gratitude and for us, witnessing the positivity and hope that has been generated has been magical. We cannot thank everyone enough for helping us turn what could have felt quite a sombre, reflective weekend into something so positive and inspiring. We are truly heartened to see my father’s message of hope shine so bright and by the number of people who wish to continue their challenges into May and indeed beyond. His legacy is in safe hands with a whole new generation of Captain Tom’s wanting to fly the flag of hope." - Hannah Ingram-Moore

If you have an innovative fundraising campaign idea that you’d like creative or digital support to bring to life, get in touch today: fleurie@studiorepublic.com