A Christmas TVC that generated £500k and Samaritans' highest-ever TV appeal income

Christmas is the loneliest time of year for thousands of people. It’s also one of the most expensive periods for Samaritans to keep their helplines staffed.

The charity needed a winter appeal that could do three things at once: cut through festive noise, drive donations, and meet the charity’s most critical fundraising moment of the year.

Working alongside creative agency Campfire, Skylark produced Break the Silence — a hero TV spot built to land in the Christmas ad break and refuse to play by its rules.

Where other Christmas ads filled the silence, ours held it. The creative centred on a single unbroken shot: we look into the eyes of a Samaritans volunteer in a moment of quiet. The result was a piece of work that cut through one of the most crowded ad windows of the year.

Beyond the TV spot, Skylark delivered a fully integrated content package. That included stills photography for digital, OOH and donor mail. It also included a series of real-stories contributor films, featuring people Samaritans had supported, which ran across social channels and supporter communications. Together, these extended the campaign’s emotional reach well beyond the 30-second broadcast format.

Break the Silence delivered the highest-ever income from Samaritans’ TV advertising. During the appeal window, it raised over £480,000 and recruited 950 new donors.

That meant thousands more calls answered on the nights people need someone most. For a charity funded almost entirely by the public, the ad break became a lifeline, literally.