While we are all socially isolating, confined to our homes for the foreseeable future, the importance of connection has never been greater. As one agency CEO recently declared: “it’s not about social distancing; it’s about distant socialising.”

This need to stay connected is at the heart of ITV’s ‘Britain Get Talking’ campaign, created by Uncommon Creative Studio, which launched at the end of 2019 with a channel-wide pause that encouraged the nation to talk to one another. It kicked off a mental wellbeing initiative that sees the channel committing to promote mental health over the next five years.

The latest iteration of the campaign has invited people around the UK to share messages they’d like to send to their loved ones and key workers with the hashtag #BritainGetTalking. ITV will then share the videos, from celebrities, children and furry friends alike, across their channels in the coming four weeks.

As ITV want us to remember, we are “Apart. But never alone.” And that’s the vital message behind this campaign, that a few words, a little message, a photo or ridiculous meme, can seem like nothing but can make all the difference to the person receiving it.

As the world applauds health workers every night, streets come out to have group dance parties and fitness trainers run workouts from rooftops, a sense of unity and community is ever prevalent, as is often the case in times of turbulence and crisis. As this ongoing campaign demonstrates, there is power in talking, in sharing how you feel, and in a media channel using their resources to promote a powerful message.