GOSH Charity ‘Because Every Moment Matters’: Emosh

With just 34 sleeps until Christmas, this week we’re back on the festive trail; well, to be fair, there is little else happening out there in the new campaign department.

But while the likes of John Lewis, Waitrose, Aldi and Boots battle it out for a share of seasonal spend, spare a thought for the charity sector, which has to compete with the big budgets of the UK retail giants during the crucial run up to December 25.

And, as if by magic, here comes the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity 2025 Christmas spot which aims to provide an authentic glimpse into life at the hospital during the festive season as part of its “Because Every Moment Matters” appeal.

Created by Imperio, with media through Medialab, the ad is set to Coldplay’s All My Love and features real-life, fly-on-the-wall footage of 13 families and over 80 staff members, capturing genuine moments of connection, care, and joy within the hospital.

Scenes include quiet moments on wards, a GOSH Arts ballet dancer in the corridors, and a visit from Santa.

One of the children is two-year-old Ruby, who has spent over 700 days, and her first Christmas, at the hospital with an rare condition called PMM2-CDG, after it was discovered her heart was “tiny and squeezed by a black mass”.

Her mum, Elle, said she was so emotional when she saw the ad, praising GOSH for “pulling out all the stops to make [Christmas] as festive as possible when you have a sick child.

The “Because Every Moment Matters” campaign aims to fund vital services, equipment, and support for families, ensuring that the hospital can feel like a “home away from home” for seriously ill children during Christmas.

Donations to the appeal help provide festive decorations and parties; free accommodation for parents near the intensive care unit and ground-breaking research and cutting-edge medical equipment.

A GOSH Charity spokesperson said: “When you’re young, Christmas time should be about getting ready for a visit from Santa, not for lifesaving surgery. Some children have to do both. No child should have to spend the festive period in hospital.

“But when they have to, we do everything we can to make it feel like home. Because every moment matters for seriously ill children.”

So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?

Well,  if we thought we were going soft last week with the Waitrose “Sussex Charmer” love-in, this week confirms our worst fears. We’d like to think we just had something in our eye but nope those are real tears.

Once again, our esteemed columnist, Mr Jonathan Spooner Esq, and Christmas advertising reviewer extraordinaire, will no doubt have a different take.

Yes, it’s emotional, you could even say it lays it on with a trowel, but this is for the kids and they need every penny…

Decision Marketing Adometer: A “what are you waiting for” 10 out of 10