One day, when this whole madness will be over, we will look back at the things that made this nightmare more bearable. Definitely, the mask will be in our memories. Quarantined people singing at their balconies too. Devouring “Tiger King” and making memes about him. Gaming all night long. And the list could go on. Yet, the symbol of the 2020 crisis will be represented by no other than toilet paper. We even think of it as the only currency that matters.

So why this sudden surge in demand? In short, it all started with a hoax. A viral tweet message claimed that the world will be out of toilet paper pretty soon, as most of it comes from China — the country where the COVID-19 erupted. Therefore, people have become toilet-paper hoarders. Now, many of us purchased the tissues at an ordinary rate, given that grocery stores were open throughout the pandemic. Yet, some of us continue to be panic-buyers. But what if we tell you that you, the hoarder, can actually help front liners fight with the virus while you continue shopping for more supplies? How does this sound like?

We’re not saying that you should change your shopping behavior (although, if you continue to do this, you deprive others of such goods, so necessary for each of us). All we’re saying is that you should consider twice about where you get your supplies from so that you can transform this compulsive behavior of stockpiling things into something good. Take, for example, Change Please‘s — the social enterprise that trains homeless people to work as baristas — initiative called “Serious Tissues.” Initially imagined as a tool to combat climate change, its creators thought that it is best if they use the toilet paper to combat COVID-19, as this is a more urgent matter to focus on.

Serious Tissues is a brand-new initiative and features 100% recycled toilet paper. Amongst the “ingredients” there are envelopes, circulars, cereal boxes, egg cartons, and even celebrity gossip magazines. Sure, avoiding cutting down more trees to create toilet paper is an admirable initiative. But the best is yet to come: By buying this product, you actually support NHS front-line workers. 100% of the profits from Serious Tissues will be in aid of the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal. The funds will be used where they are most needed and distributed by local NHS charities.

This laudable initiative couldn’t come alone. It came with an image, all courtesy of Above+Beyond agency. To make it more appealing to possible buyers, the London-based agency was responsible for the name, branding, visual identity, and tone of voice. The creatives packed all of these things nicely and complimented them with a simple, yet strong, tagline: “Sh*t just got serious.” To support the launch, Above+Beyond has also created a range of assets for social media.

Tom Bedwell, Managing Director, Above+Beyond, said: “You can tell things are serious when your toilet paper is trying to help. Change Please has a track record in transforming the lives of the homeless people involved in its barista scheme, so we jumped at the chance to get involved with Serious Tissues: a super simple concept, with the potential to make a massive change. While we’ve developed a brand with a light touch and cheeky tone of voice, the ambition is huge, and we’re very proud to be playing our part in it.”

As one of the founders of Serious Tissues, Chris Baker, former Head of Strategy at FCB Inferno, had a few things to say about this campaign: “The world has changed rapidly in the past 100 days, so we’ve quickly mobilized and changed our focus from climate change to fighting this terrible pandemic. There are close to 20 million families in the UK. If we can get 5% of those to switch to Serious Tissues, that means £10 million going to the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal. Above+Beyond totally understands the brand and the urgency and shares our desire to help the NHS frontline heroes — it’s been an awesome partnership.”

The brand didn’t forget about its main focus, that of tackling climate change. It just considered that now, there are other things, more serious, to focus on. Once the pandemic is over, Serious Tissues will return their attention to the one thing that made it take shape in the first place: the environment. But until then, let’s listen to this brand and buy toilet paper from it. Serious Tissues are available to buy online, either as a one-off or a subscription. There is a choice of either standard or premium rolls.

Credits:

Client: Change Please

Agency: Above+Beyond