To celebrate the National Year of Reading 2026, the National Literacy Trust has launched a new campaign that positions reading as a gateway to passions.

The ‘Go All In’ campaign has been created with the help of Fold7. It asks people to consider their passions and ‘go all in’ by reading about them. 

A campaign video is built on the idea ‘if you’re into it, read into it’. It begins with a young boy in a football shirt paired with the voice over: “Into football?... You’re not really into it until you read into it.”

The spot shows how the boy is able to uncover more about his passion for football by reading about it. From autobiographies to match stats, he is able to find out more about his passion through books.

The film then showcases people with other passions to show how reading can help enrich a love of anything. A woman devoted to horror and a young girl with a passion for fantasy bring to life some of the interests that can be developed by reading. 

The film directed and animated by Ewan Jones Morris using stop-motion style animation, film footage and a collage effect to bring to life how different books help piece together a passion.

The campaign aims to broaden the horizons of reading and show that it encompasses all topics and a variety of mediums including comics, newspapers, graphic novels, audiobooks and other written content accessed via phones and tablets.

“We wanted to show that reading is the ultimate plug into your passions. Our stop motion, collage aesthetic in the ad isn’t just there to look pretty - it’s making an important point. Which is to demonstrate that books are just one of the many ways people can connect with reading. From comics, magazines, online articles, audiobooks and wikis, whatever helps you get even deeper into what you’re into through reading,” says Dave Billing, Executive Creative Director at Fold7.

The National Year of Reading 2026 is a Department for Education initiative delivered in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust in response to the country’s reading crisis. The National Literacy Trust’s Annual Literacy Survey found that only one-third of children aged 8 to 18 say they enjoy reading in their spare time.

The ‘go all in’ campaign cleverly positions reading alongside children’s existing hobbies to show how broad reading can be. 

“Fold7’s strategy recognises that we won’t reignite that connection by lecturing people about its importance. Instead, this campaign shows how reading deepens the things we already love. It’s a powerful way to encourage new readers to embrace it, while reminding the rest of us of the joy and relevance it can bring to our lives,” added David Hayman, Director of National Year of Reading.

The campaign will run across print, outdoor, digital, radio, and cinema, with ongoing drumbeat activity. Media partners include Bloomberg, DCM, DC Thomson, Ocean Outdoor, Immediate, Spotify, Acast, Audible, YouTube, Meta and TikTok.

The campaign celebrates the diversity of reading to open up new possibilities and position reading as a joyful companion to any passion.