Iris and HEROES create #StayHomeHeroes illustrating ordinary people following the rules and helping save lives

A campaign by Iris

Creative agency Iris has partnered with new charity HEROES to support fundraising for the NHS and respond to the government’s call for agencies to help drive the STAY AT HOME message.

The campaign, ‘Stay Home Heroes’, is made up of imagery that heroes ordinary people who are following the rules by staying home, to support the NHS against the spread of Covid-19. 

The images were captured by 26 professional photographers during lockdown and take a quirky look at the mundane tasks enjoyed during the lockdown period, with domestic acts glorified and shown as legendary heroic triumphs that help to save lives. The campaign also invites people to join the #StayHomeHeroes social media challenge, by taking a heroic picture of a friend or family member, tagging the Heroes charity (@helpthemhelpus_ ) and nominating a friend to do the same - spreading the message further.

Iris mobilised the photographers to shoot compelling portraits using the resources available to them in lockdown; flatmates and partners became models, make-up artists and stylists were dialled in, art directors and tech assistants advised via Zoom, some even had remote-controlled cameras operating in their assistant’s homes.

Since word of the campaign broke on social, photographers and creatives have been coming forward in droves take part and help make a difference. The portraits are due to go live in OOH locations nationwide from Monday 4^th May, thanks to a donation from Clear Channel.

Post lockdown the professional photography will be exhibited at a gallery event selling limited edition photography prints and books, donated by printed.com to raise further funds for HEROES.

Shifting the focus

Ross Taylor, creative director, Iris, says:“As we pass ‘peak’ and begin to face lockdown fatigue a huge number of people from all demographics will continue to flout the governments advice to stay home, potentially putting an unimaginable amount of lives at risk. This project is about shifting the focus from shaming ‘flouters’ to a positive celebration of all the people who are abiding by the lockdown rules. The ambition is to promote behaviour change through example and raise money for an awesome cause that’s protecting the people on the frontline - HEROES.”

The charity, HEROES, brings direct insight from the frontline on the physical, mental and day to day needs of staff across the nation. The founders identified three key areas of focus for the HEROES mission; facilitating the delivery of food through existing infrastructure (restaurants, commercial kitchens and food service businesses), obtaining and creating a supply stream of much needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and finally by providing vital human health and well-being services such as childcare and counselling.

NHS Dr and co-founder Dominic Pimenta, says: “We are dedicated to a single ideal, ‘anything that makes an NHS worker's life better. This crisis will see many of my colleagues face the most challenging time of their lives. The government and management are swamped already, so we set up HEROES to support the frontline workers for now and far into the future. We must do all we can to protect and defend it at this difficult time. We can get through this together if we help them, help us”