People Like You
Campaign photography
Client: Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service
Sector: Health / public service / campaign
Location: Scotland (Glasgow + Edinburgh)
Scope: Hero still campaign imagery created in tandem with motion production
Duration: Multi-phase – 2 days Glasgow · 1 day Edinburgh
The People Like You campaign was launched by Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service on World Blood Donor Day with the purpose of recruiting new donors by portraying blood donation as something that ordinary people across Scotland do. It responded to a significant decline in donor numbers and aimed to make donation relatable by showing a diverse range of everyday people — from dancers to gamers — in real, human moments.
I was commissioned to deliver the stills component of the People Like You campaign, working alongside the TV commercial produced by Edinburgh-based motion company Green Rooms.
From the outset, the stills were treated as core campaign assets rather than supporting material.
The brief was clear: this wasn’t behind-the-scenes coverage. The stills needed to operate as primary campaign assets — usable across advertising, web, social and print — while remaining fully aligned with the narrative and emotional tone of the film.
The task was to create images that felt part of the same world as the TVC, but not confined by it. The stills were developed as a complementary library, offering nuance, variation and longevity — and removing any need to fall back on frame grabs once the campaign was in use.
Approach & Consistency
Rather than treating the stills as secondary or documentary, the photography was fully integrated into the campaign production. I worked in step with the motion team, scheduling around cast availability and rehearsals to capture key narrative moments while also extending the material into a broader stills set.
This required careful coordination — running second setups, working efficiently, and ensuring the stills process never disrupted principal photography. Motion took precedence in time and budget, and the stills were designed to add value without competing for resources.
The imagery needed to be recognisable alongside the TVC without becoming rigidly derivative. The resulting library offers range and flexibility, giving SNBTS a set of campaign images that remain usable well beyond the life of the commercial.
Outcomes & Use
The still imagery has become one of the most widely used elements of the People Like You campaign. The photographs have been widely used across SNBTS donor recruitment materials, digital platforms, social media, press and out-of-home advertising.
Because the stills were created with flexibility in mind, they have continued to be used well beyond the original campaign launch. In many cases, the photography has had greater day-to-day usability than the commercial itself, particularly in environments where video is less practical.
The result is a campaign image library that continues to support public engagement, while remaining clearly tied to the original People Like You narrative.
Production Notes
