Poet Roger Robinson Recognises the Important Role of Posties for Royal Mail

Royal Mail has unveiled the first major new campaign featuring the end line 'In Good Hands'. It celebrates the hardworking people we know and love who deliver our parcels - the posties - and the role that the company’s new innovations play in their hands.

Developed by AMV BBDO, the campaign launches at one of Royal Mail’s busiest times of the year, with around double the number of parcels and stamped letters sent over the festive period compared to usual. The campaign recognises the important role their postal workers play during the festive season while spotlighting new innovations, such as the free Parcel Collect service and new-and-improved Royal Mail app, which keeps customers connected more seamlessly, door-to-door, all year-round.

Set to a specially commissioned poem by the TS Eliot Prize-winning poet, Roger Robinson, the first ad focuses on posties’ hands, showcasing the warmth and humanity of their relationship with customers. Read by actor Sope Dirisu, the poem guides viewers through a journey featuring various hands, both those of real staff and actors, over the course of the year, showing the changing of the seasons and the rhythm of life.

Directed by Tom Green through Stink Films, the 30 and 60-second versions will run on digital, social and video-on-demand platforms. As part of this campaign, a 30-second film introduces the free Parcel Collect services, complemented by a full suite of social and digital ads across platforms.

Royal Mail MD marketing and digital Sonia Sudhakar says, “Royal Mail has such an important role to play during the festive period and we’re gearing up to deliver Christmas for our customers this year. This spot heroes our 85,000 posties who are out there, come rain or shine, delivering for communities across the UK. Our customers can save by buying online and having their parcel collected. We think this is an innovation worth celebrating in difficult economic times and in the colder months. We’re delighted to be able to showcase these services delivered, as always, by our trusted posties”

AMV BBDO creative partner Tim Riley says, “Posties are unique to Royal Mail. Unlike the other courier companies that just have a man in a van, posties are on your street, on foot, every day. They’re a treasured part of the community and part of the fabric of Britain itself. We wanted to recognise them, and a poem seemed a fitting way to do that. Particularly since there’s a historical precedent with this brand – the famous Night Mail poem written by WH Auden in 1936”.