Over 200 Poster Sites per week nationwide throughout March, thanks to JCDecaux
Author: Anna Powell
5th March 2025
For millions of children in the UK, owning a book is a distant dream. We are tackling this with our first ever national roadside advertising campaign, urging families to pass on pre-loved books and help close the gap.
Launching on 3rd March, the ‘Power of a Pre-Loved Book’ campaign will run for four weeks across digital billboards and Communication Hubs across the UK.
This year, we will gift over 600,000 new and pre-loved books to children experiencing book poverty. This campaign aims to make book ‘pass-me-ons’ second nature for families – encouraging them to pass on books their children have outgrown, and in doing so, share the joy and escapism of reading.
Campaign imagery – featuring optimistic yellow tones, a playful font, and flying books – is designed to reflect limitless possibilities of storytelling. The language used was inspired by creative workshops held in primary schools directly supported by the charity, ensuring that the voices of children are at the heart of the campaign. Three different creative executions highlight the distinctive power of books to elicit joy, to inspire us and to fuel imaginations.
The campaign is made possible by the support of the JCDecaux Community Channel which provides charities with access to digital advertising locations. Errror plus creative design agency Stop, Look and Listen have together helped bring the vision to life, while Wonderbly, the world’s leading creator of personalised books for children. and illustrator Geoffrey Waring have donated all book illustrations used throughout the campaign.
Our CEO, Liberty Venn declared that “Every book sitting unread on a shelf could spark a child’s imagination. Over forty-two million children’s books are sold each year, and there is so much potential to give these books a second home. Thanks to JCDecaux Community Channel, this campaign will help us reach new families, inspire more donations, and bring us closer to our ambition of gifting over one million books annually.”
Chris Dooley, Head of Social Impact at JCDecaux UK commented that “JCDecaux Community Channel is proud to support The Children’s Book Project in its mission to tackle book poverty and inspire a love of reading. By using the power of the public screen, this campaign will help spread awareness and encourage families to pass on pre-loved books, ensuring more children have access to the joy and opportunity that reading brings.”
Asi Sharabi, CEO of Wonderbly said “At Wonderbly, our mission has always been to ignite children’s imaginations through personalised storytelling. Yet, for many children, owning a book remains a remote possibility. That’s why we’re incredibly proud to support this inspiring initiative—working together to place books into the hands of those who need them most. We’re privileged to collaborate with an extraordinary team of creative talents, and we’re thrilled to contribute vibrant, captivating illustrations that will help amplify this cause and inspire more people to share the joy of reading.”.
Tony Davidson & Kim Papworth at Errror commented; “Simple posters that explain the emotional benefits of passing on pre-loved children’s books. It’s a no brainer. Everyone should do this.”
Marc Spicer & Rosey Trickett of Stop, Look & Listen also commented; “Books and stories can undoubtedly fuel imaginations and bring joy to to children’s lives, and there’s so much joy in the way that Children’s Book Project go about their inspiriffic work. We’re delighted to have been able to help bring that to life visually throughout March, and hope the word is spread far and wide!”
How You Can Help
– Donate pre-loved children’s books through the Children’s Book Project.
– Spread the word by sharing your poster photos using the hashtag #inspirrific
Together, help us turn one book into a million possibilities.
