About the campaign

About the campaign

In our last two major member benefits surveys, 2014 and 2018, educating the public about eye health featured in the top two priorities that members felt the AOP should be focusing on. 

Since the 2014 survey, we have developed advice and support for patients on how to look after their eyesight and manage eye conditions, including 20 patient leaflets. 

In 2017, we conducted a survey of independent practice owners in which 70% indicated that they felt the AOP should be investing in television advertising to promote the importance of eye health to the public. As a result of this research, our Board approved a pilot campaign, which launched on 3 October 2018.

Making the advertisement

The requirement for the campaign was to create a public eye health awareness campaign that challenges people to think more about their eye health, moving from a reactive to a pro-active mindset. We chose an approach that focused on what people would miss if they lost their sight, aligning the value of good eye health with the significance of regular sight tests.
 

Visualisation of sight loss

Our 30 second commercial features cherished moments when someone’s sight would be most valued. We then deteriorate the images visually, as someone with diabetic retinopathy (in the  football scene) or glaucoma (in the picnic and wedding scenes) could possibly see them, denying the viewer the moment in full and creating the sense that they are missing out. 

Wanting to take a positive approach, we then show these moments in their entirety after the importance of sight tests has been explained. The advertisement finishes with the positive call to action to ‘celebrate your sight’.

Fight for Sight

We have partnered with eye research charity, Fight for Sight, for the campaign, and the advertisement features Fight for Sight’s calculation of avoidable sight loss in the UK. 

Konnie and Rupa Huq

We were delighted to feature presenter and author, Konnie Huq (pictured left), as the voice for our campaign. 

Konnie’s sister, Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing, Central and Acton, who has previously worked with the AOP on promoting children’s eye health, also showed her support for the campaign. 

Read the Huq sisters’ quotes in our campaign press release. 

Measuring the success of the campaign

In 2018, Celebrate your sight will run as a pilot campaign in 250 postcode districts on Sky Adsmart, supported by a small amount of national coverage on ITV Hub and Facebook, pre-dominantly targeting female viewers aged 25-55. 

We are working with a handful of independent member practices to gather statistical information pre- and post-campaign to support the rollout of the campaign in future years. 

Watch the television advert and find out more about the campaign at www.aop.org.uk/celebrate