The Royal British Legion has launched a multichannel campaign, 'What They Won't Tell You'. The campaign seeks to authentically unveil the stories and experiences of the Armed Forces community, sharing aspects of their service that often go unspoken. It aims to foster an emotional connection between the audience and the Armed Forces community, inspiring the public to demonstrate their support by wearing a poppy.

The nationwide campaign launches with a TV spot during Coronation Street. The ad will run across ITV’s main channels in October. Online content will be served during specific programme times, building the story further with a series of short films in which veterans and serving personnel share the significance of seeing others wearing the poppy.

The broadcast campaign is reinforced by a series of both long- and short-form organic social videos. These videos feature roundtable discussions involving the veterans and serving personnel as they share their experiences and the effect their service had on them, stories which they have previously found hard to speak of.

The campaign was created in partnership with creative agency, Leagas Delaney, with media planning and buying by Bicycle.

“It can be difficult for us to imagine the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces community,” said Rebecca Warren, Director, Marketing and Communications at the Royal British Legion. “Our campaign for 2023 encourages the nation to understand and appreciate that a life of service often comes with difficulties and dangers, some of which can be hard for veterans and serving personnel to talk about. Our strategy for this campaign is to serve as a springboard into Remembrance and the Poppy Appeal – building an emotional connection between the nation and our Armed Forces in advance of the Appeal beginning.”