Brief

Freshwater was commissioned by Public Health Wales to develop a bilingual explainer animation to support the JUSTB smoking prevention programme –  a peer-led initiative aimed at educating and empowering Year 8 pupils (aged 12–13) to spread awareness about the risks and consequences of illegal tobacco.

The animation needed to align with existing training resources, carry the refreshed JUSTB brand, and communicate clearly and confidently the many harms caused by illegal tobacco – from health issues to criminal links and the impact on communities. The objective was to help these young ambassadors understand the issue in depth, feel empowered to speak about it and share the message in their schools and wider peer networks across Wales.

Delivery

The brief presented a number of creative and strategic challenges. The primary audience – young, media-savvy students – consume vast amounts of content online, particularly through video-sharing platforms like TikTok and YouTube. An Ofcom report from 2022 revealed that 95% of children aged 3–17 use these platforms, with 53% preferring cartoons and animations and 3 in 10 creating their own video content. It was clear that the animation needed to be as dynamic and compelling as the content they regularly engage with.

Our creative had to compete with this fast-paced, trend-driven media landscape. We needed to make sure that the final animation was not only educational but entertaining – grabbing attention quickly and holding it throughout. The tone had to be age-appropriate but not patronising, informative but not overloaded and stylistically fresh enough to remain relevant in the years ahead.

In addition to the demands of engaging a young audience, we also needed to develop fully bilingual content, meet accessibility standards and ensure the animation resonated with secondary audiences such as teachers, healthy school coordinators, public health teams and policy partners.

Results

Working closely with Public Health Wales and its stakeholders, Freshwater created an animation in both Welsh and English, backed by robust testing with young people. We developed five initial animation styles and tested them via a survey, which was sent out to a sample of the target audience to identify a preferred creative direction. This insight directly informed our storyboard and tone of voice, helping to ensure real relevance and relatability.

From scripting and voiceover selection to music and motion design, each element was carefully crafted to reflect the energy, pace and production values expected by this demographic. The bilingual animation was fully subtitled, designed for multi-platform use and supplied in a range of short-form edits suitable for social sharing.

Public Health Wales described the result as impactful, creative and an effective tool in equipping young people with the confidence and understanding to talk about illegal tobacco with their peers. The project not only delivered against its brief – it exceeded expectations by becoming a central asset within the JUSTB programme, used in schools and shared across the wider public health network.