'Too Big': Children with Cancer UK illustrates how many children are treated using therapies designed for adults

Communications agency Earnies has launched a series of integrated fundraising and awareness campaigns designed to spotlight the stark reality that many children with cancer are still treated using therapies originally designed for adults.

The campaign centres around the devastating statistic that just 2% of cancer research funding is currently dedicated to children and young people.

To illustrate this, ‘Too Big’ uses oversized visual cues to symbolise treatments and systems not built specifically for children.

To launch the campaign, Earnies orchestrated a high-impact stunt at Everton’s fixture against Sunderland, where 11-year-old Kaiden Edwards, who is living with medulloblastoma - a rare brain cancer - walked out as an Everton mascot wearing an oversized shirt emblazoned with the words ‘2 BIG’.

The launch marks the beginning of a broader integrated programme of activity that will roll out in phases across paid, owned and earned channels throughout the year, helping Children with Cancer UK drive both awareness and donations in support of childhood cancer research and specialist treatments.

The campaign platform will evolve through a series of moments and activations across 2026, beginning with an initial test phase in May and June, before returning with a larger national push in September to coincide with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Further activity is planned across the year to continue building momentum around the core message.

Jess O’Donohoe, managing director at Earnies, said: “Few briefs carry the emotional weight and responsibility of this one. ‘Too Big’ is a simple but powerful creative platform rooted in a heartbreaking truth. From the outset, we wanted to create an idea that could scale across every touchpoint - from OOH and TV through to PR, social and digital - while helping drive meaningful fundraising support for Children with Cancer UK.

“As an agency, the opportunity to work on campaigns capable of creating genuine impact is some of the most important and rewarding work we can do. We’re incredibly proud to have developed and produced this campaign end-to-end, ensuring the idea remains emotionally powerful and consistent across every channel.”

Natasha Giraudel, head of marketing and communications at Children with Cancer UK said: “Our mission is to create a world where every child and young person survives cancer and lives a long and healthy life. Campaigns like ‘Too Big’ are critical in helping people understand why more investment into childhood-specific cancer treatments and research is urgently needed.

“Earnies understood both the sensitivity and scale of that challenge, creating a campaign platform capable of reaching audiences nationally and inspiring support for the vital fundraising work that helps power progress in childhood cancer research.”