“Bin dippers.” “Eating rats in their council house.” Poverty has long been a punchline in football. But with Trussell, we used that same tribal language for real-world good. Partnering with cult football creator Bryan’s Gunn, we built a remix style video using the word “hunger” in a totally different way. The result? Over 500k views, 13 clubs signing our Charter, and a new conversation about food banks in the language fans actually speak.
BRIEF
Trussell is the UK’s biggest food bank network, here to help people when times get tough, working toward a future where no one has to rely on a food bank. With over 1,300 centres, they gave out nearly 3 million emergency food parcels last year. But they’re not stopping there. They’re tackling the bigger issues behind hunger too.
The brief was to harness the collectivism of football communities and the cultural power of the game to shift public attitudes around the need for food banks.
IDEA
“Bin dippers”, “Feed the Scousers”, “Eating rats in their council house”. Football fans have long used poverty as a punchline, especially when tribal rivalries play out in chants and online.
But football fans also drive change and solidarity. From Marcus Rashford to Norwich City, we have seen what happens when football uses its platform for good.
We set out to reframe the conversation around food poverty by engaging the football community on its own terms through voices it trusts, content it recognises, and platforms it uses daily. By using the word “hunger” in the way fans hear it every weekend, and then hitting them with the twist we were able to land a serious issue in a language football fans understand.
We partnered with Bryan’s Gunn, a creator known for remix-style football commentary that blends cultural insight with fan humour. His real name is Will, and he’s not a professional content creator. His actual day job is selling event packages for a medical publisher. But he has built a cult following by making football content that truly connects with fans.
For Will, this was personal. When his wife’s family arrived in the UK from Bosnia, they used Trussell food banks. Will visited Southwark Foodbank to see the work up close and speak to the people involved. He wanted to understand it properly, not just talk about it online.
X was the primary launch platform due to its dominance in football discourse and the high presence of sports journalists, creators and deeply engaged fans. Plus how great, that a platform now considered a cesspit by some has a chance to deliver some real-world good.
RESULTS
The campaign resulted in 523,000 video views, with 414,000 views unpaid on X, supported by reposts from Mundial, Guardian Football, Football Joe, and others. It also landed a 4.8 million social reach, amplified by national journalists and public figures including Richard Osman, John Cross, and Jim White.
With 72 pieces of media coverage across 57 national outlets, including The Athletic, The Independent, and Football Clichés podcast, we also negotiated 13 football clubs signing up to a “Football vs Hunger” charter at launch, which invited clubs and fans to take a stand and challenge food poverty publicly.