Activate with Joe Wicks

Client: Department of Health and Social Care

Half of UK children aren't meeting recommended daily activity levels, harming physical and mental health. But this issue was too deep rooted to tackle alone. We needed to make movement joyful, inclusive and built for the way children consume content.

'Activate' delivered exactly that. Created by Joe Wicks, this first-of-its-kind animated series provides fun, accessible five minute bursts of movement, brought to life by the makers of Hey Duggee (Studio AKA), with tracks from Universal Music UK. As the NHS launched its 10 Year Health Plan, a pioneering partnership between Joe and DHSC was brokered. The collective backing transformed Activate from a children’s series, into a shared national mission that no single partner could have tackled alone. Freuds led the partnership and PR, which saw joint media appearances with Joe Wicks and the Health Secretary signalling national importance, supported by a dynamic social rollout bringing Activate to life through a steady stream of high energy content, boosted into lower activity communities where it was needed most. The results were extraordinary: 250+ earned pieces, 2.6m YouTube views, 32m impressions in deprived areas and, importantly, 58,900 ‘movement hours’ in just six weeks. More than reach, this shows sustained participation and real behaviour change. Activate didn’t just grab attention - it changed what families did. Now embedded in homes, schools and daily routines nationwide, it has become an evergreen tool that endured long after the campaign period ended. Proof that public sector campaigns can break the mould and shift behaviour at scale.