A campaign to support the Scottish Government’s annual Children’s Panel recruitment drive has been developed by Newhaven, Consolidated PR and Carat.

The ads for the campaign, created by Newhaven, focus on how easy an innocent childhood can become lost through neglect and abuse by showing vulnerable children in a range of scenarios beside gaping black holes to appeal to people willing to help children out of a dark place.

As part of the digital element of the campaign, banner ads lead to short clips showing the type of situations children in Scotland can face.

Media planning for the four week campaign, which launched on Monday, has been handled by Carat and Consolidated PR is supporting the drive with a mix of media relations, stakeholder management and digital PR.

Scott Sutherland, strategic marketing manager for the Scottish Government, said: “We believe the new creative demonstrates the dark places many vulnerable children can find themselves in, and hope the campaign reaches out to the right type of individual, someone who can make the commitment to helping children who feel isolated or in despair.

“This year, the campaign must attract 600 individuals from across Scotland who genuinely want to improve the lives of local children and young people, in order to ensure the system offers the best support.”

To mark the PR launch of the call for new recruits to the Children's Panel, Scotland’s national poet, Makar Liz Lochhead has written a poem, Trouble is not my Middle Name, to explore the feelings of a child in despair.