The National Literacy Trust is aiming to reposition reading from being a perceived chore to being a gateway that brings our existing passions to life through a new campaign which taps into the National Year of Reading 2026 initiative.
The scheme, backed by the Department for Education, is a response to the country’s reading crisis, with the NLT’s Annual Literacy Survey showing that only one-third of children aged 8 to 18 say they enjoy reading in their spare time.
Created by Fold7, the work is built on the “if you’re into it, read into it” strategic proposition that underpins the overall “Go All In” strategy.
It is brought to life in a film showing a young boy in a football shirt, with a voiceover asking him: “Into football?… You’re not really into it until you read into it.”
Suddenly the boy realises that there is so much more to explore through reading around football – from discovering the latest transfer rumours and match statistics, to autobiographies by famous players.
His enthusiasm is matched by the other people we meet in the film, each of whom uses reading to get more out of their interests. These include a woman devoted to all things horror and a little girl who loves her dad’s funny voices when he reads to her at bedtime.
Directed and animated by Ewan Jones Morris using a stop-motion style and a collage effect, the spot shows viewers that reading doesn’t just have to be about books – it can be anything from comics and newspapers to graphic novels, audiobooks and other written content accessed via phones and tablets.
The same concept is carried through to OOH, digital, print and immersive radio spots; the first advertising breaks this week with further bursts planned later in the year.
National Year of Reading director David Hayman said: “Reading is vital, but right now too many people are switching off from it. 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.”
Fold7 executive creative director Dave Billing added: “With this work, we wanted to show that reading is the ultimate plugin to 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.”
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