'Olga, we have a new project you’re going to love,' said craig+bridget, the legendary strategy duo I often work with. 'It’s about death.'

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They were right: it was a task to die for (sorry, I couldn’t resist), set by a brilliant client.

London-based funeral directors called Poppy’s have a vision to change their sector, and that requires changing the discourse around death and dying. In their first-ever campaign, they wanted to call out Britain’s hopelessly outdated funeral traditions which date back to 1861, the year Queen Victoria buried her husband Prince Albert. But in the 21st century, there’s no reason a funeral has to be a drab and joyless affair complete with a horse-drawn hearse; nor do we have to keep using words like ‘the departed’ or ‘passed away’. 

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The outdoor campaign ran for nearly a year across South-West London, close to Poppy’s headquarters in Tooting.