Copy that pushes the far right out of the picture

The Guardian's 2025 charity appeal aimed to raise £1 million for charities countering division caused by increasing far right activity. The brief to OLIVER: turn 'hope over hate' into donations, without defaulting to the predictable.

OLIVER's answer was bold: put far-right language into the Guardian's mouth – then subvert it. Executions opened with rhetoric like Make Britain Great Again in bold red, creating an immediate collision with the Guardian's tone. A simple secondary line landed the message in pure Guardian style: Bring tolerance back to daily life.

Layout was critical. The first line triggered instinctive reaction; the second had to land before it hardened into rejection. Together they moved readers from hate to hope, making donating an active reclaiming of what Britain was losing.

Eimhin Behan, Marketing Manager at the Guardian, said: "OLIVER brought deep brand knowledge and immense tact to a highly delicate campaign."

Putting opening far-right slogans in the Guardian’s mouth required the 10+ years of trust built between OLIVER and the Guardian. There was nervousness about the bold tone but working in collaboration with the Guardian's social policy editor, saw the idea navigate through the wider stakeholder and land with impact.

The campaign raised £1.03 million – 3.5% above target. Individual donors grew 12% year on year, from 15,941 to 17,915, against UK total giving declining 9.1% in 2025 (UK Giving Report, 2026). Copy that didn't just perform well. It performed against the grain.