Often in advertising, the simplest ideas make the biggest impact. And sometimes in advertising, the execution of that simple idea gives that impact its wallop.

Both of these factors play in MullenLowe London’s ad for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The idea is simply to present a collection of thank yous. Those thank yous are beautifully illustrated on the bodies of the people BHF has helped.

The aim of the ad is to boost donations so that the pioneering research conducted of BHF can continue.

Of course, there’s also a little awareness increasing. A baby who has had heart surgery and a young woman with a pacemaker are just two of the stories featured in the campaign. The ad shows the breadth of those affected by heart disease and the importance of the BHF’s on-going research. It reminds people that they, or someone they love, might need BHF’s help one day.

The campaign launched on February 5 and is made up of TV, cinema, print, OOH, DOOH, VOD and social media content. The ads were directed by Simon Rattigan at HLA with animation and post-production by The Mill.

Carolan Davidge, director of marketing and engagement at the British Heart Foundation, commented, “Thousands of lives have been saved thanks to pioneering research funded by the BHF. But with one in four of us still dying from a heart or circulatory disease, there is so much more to do to keep our hearts beating and blood flowing. Only with people’s generous donations, will we be able to find the future cures and treatments that will beat the heartbreak caused by the world’s biggest killer.”

Mark Elwood, executive creative director at MullenLowe London, added, “The British Heart Foundation is an amazing organisation whose core purpose is to fund research into fighting cardiovascular disease. They’ve made so many significant advances in their field, it’s easy to take them for granted. So, it feels right to say ‘thank you’ on behalf of the patients they’ve helped, but remind everyone that the job isn’t finished yet.”