The countdown to Christmas is on. And as we edge closer to the big day, more of us than ever before are counting down in weird and wonderful ways… with the help of some rather unusual advent calendars.

It’s hard to remember the last time that advent calendars made the news as much they did in 2017, for entirely the wrong reasons. Gregg’s managed to provoke religious indignation by featuring a sausage roll messiah in theirs, while YouTube fashion darling Zoella managed to offend all and sundry by cramming fully five pounds worth of tat into a calendar costing £50. Not since Porsche released an advent calendar costing £1,000,000 has this simple tradition attracted such ire.

Fortunately, The Co-operative Bank is here to redress the balance with a calendar that’s far more in keeping with the true spirit of Christmas (with a little help from Dinosaur).

A social media campaign with a difference

25 years ago, The Co-operative Bank launched its customer-led Ethical Policy. Today, that policy informs and inspires everything that makes it different. To celebrate the milestone, they’ve partnered with Centrepoint, a charity that helps homeless 16-25 year olds into a home and a job by providing safe accommodation, access to learning, and health support.

And with Christmas fast approaching – a particularly distressing time for young people living on the streets – the Bank wanted to raise awareness both of Centrepoint, and the amazing contribution their customers and colleagues make.

So we gathered together a bunch of inspiring stories – on the lead  up to Christmas – and created a social media advent calendar to highlight some of the great work carried out in 2017.

Sharing stories through #25DaysofDifference

Each day in the countdown to December 25^th, we’ll be revealing one of 25 ways the Bank and its customers have dug deep to support this great cause. From fundraising and cycling, to swimming and sleeping out, there are lots of different ways that lots of different people have made a little money and a big difference.

The size and scale of the Bank – and the ubiquity of their social following – meant that we had to adapt our creative to work across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And by taking the campaign away from just its customer base and onto social, we could extend its reach to a wider audience.

25 Days 25 Ways will run across social each day up until Christmas. So give it a like, a follow and a share. There’s no mascara or fancy liqueur in it for you, but it’ll leave you feeling just as good.

And if it leaves you feeling inspired, you can get involved too.

To see more of our work in the FMCG, food, retail, health and wellness sectors, click here for case studies on how we’ve helped The Co-op, Atkins, Midcounties Co-op, Wagamama and many more.

Alternatively, if you’d like to learn more, give us a call on 0161 831 0831 and ask for Nicola or get in touch at hello@dinosaur.co.uk.

Also published on Medium.