ITV and its agency, Uncommon, had already begun a campaign, Britain Get Talking, to assist those with mental health problems before Covid-19 happened. Its key feature was a silent ad break – the aim was to get people talking to one another.

When Covid-19 hit Britain, the pair responded quickly with a new campaign. Its key feature was anything but silent. The campaign peppered ITV with clips of celebrities sending messages of love and support to their loved ones, encouraging everyday people to do the same.

ITV’s Britain Get Taking campaign has now entered phase three. This time in print. The series of print ads tell stories about life in isolation – strikingly in copy laid out like mobile phone contacts lists.

“There’s been a lot of design work recently that has felt more like commentary than action,” explained Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon.

“We wanted to try and use print for what it’s best at – powerful stories and design that provokes change. No matter what the device, we all have a contact list, and everything starts there. There is hopefully a story here for everyone, and a reason for anyone to pick up their phone and keep talking.”

The ads are running in newspaper titles such as The Observer and The Times, as well as online and in social media.

Uncommon: ITV gets people talking to ease the struggle of isolation