TMW (part of Accenture Song) & Pablo have unveiled their second major campaign for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Building on last year’s success in making managing money and tax affairs easier, a drive that previously delivered record new app users and a notable uplift in trust amongst younger audiences, the new work uses surreal humour – from rubber ducks to musical sponges – to promote the HMRC app. This new phase broadens the focus to reach all UK adults aged 18 to 65.
The campaign will run from November across TV, radio, DOOH, social, influencer and partnership channels, as well as multiple new media innovations such as Dynamic VOD, Snapchat AR Lens and gamified end cards.
This year’s hero TV ad, directed by Eoin Glaister from Stink, continues to use surprise and creativity to capture attention. In the new 30-second film, a woman at a bus stop steps into a foaming bathtub, serenely gliding through suburbia, serenaded by an orchestra of rubber ducks – an imaginative metaphor for how easy and effortless it feels to manage your tax affairs with the HMRC app.
The campaign is part of a broader digital transformation programme to help HMRC deliver on its vision of becoming a trusted, modern tax and customs service. ‘You’re On It’ aims to accelerate the shift from analogue to digital, encouraging millions more taxpayers to manage their money and tax affairs more easily by using HMRC’s free, secure app.
Influencer activity will have prominent content creators narrate how easy it is to handle money and tax affairs via HMRC app. Social and digital activity includes specific call-outs in the UK’s cities, encouraging others with social proof to be as “on it” as their neighbours.
Last year’s campaign prioritised 18–34-year-olds, resulting in a 44% increase in new users. This year, the campaign’s expanded audience and innovative creative approach aims to build on these results, driving even greater behaviour change.
Neil Martin, Deputy Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing, HMRC: “Last year’s ‘You’re On It’ campaign achieved some fantastic results, helping millions more people to make the switch to the HMRC app to manage their tax and money. We’re building on that success with this next phase, using a range of increasingly creative and innovative approaches to reach and influence our customers throughout the whole of the UK, helping them make managing their tax and money easier. Our goal is to give customers more confidence and control – and the campaign shows how the HMRC app does exactly that, providing secure and easy-to-use tools to manage their money and tax, at their fingertips.”
Tim Snape, Founding Creative Partner, Pablo: “This campaign is all about how gloriously blissful using the HMRC app can be. Okay, maybe not quite as blissful as an orchestra of ducks – but it’s definitely up there when it comes to making tax easy. It’s the next instalment of our ‘You’re On It’ campaign, and we’re delighted to add a singing sponge and violin-playing ducks to our growing family of unlikely heroes, right alongside our yeti and talking pizza.”
Paul Dazeley, Group Head of Planning, TMW, part of Accenture Song: “The campaign shows the power of creative storytelling in driving behaviour change. By using humour and imagination to capture attention, we’re able to reframe a typically functional task as a positive experience. We’re creating an emotional connection that builds confidence and trust in a message about tax efficiency.”
Last year’s campaign resonated strongly with younger audiences because it tapped into humour, surprise and relatable scenarios – turning something as mundane as checking your tax code into something playful and shareable.
This year’s campaign shifts tone to connect with an older audience by emphasising reassurance and simplicity. It uses a calm, imaginative metaphor to show that managing tax with the HMRC app is not only easy but also gives a sense of control and confidence, which matters most to this demographic.
Media planning and buying have been handled by MG OMD, and partnerships by 23red.
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