Beloved kids’ characters such as Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Dennis the Menace star in new stories to help kids cope with both illness and the challenges of life on a new learning and entertainment platform from the U.K.'s Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH).

Great Ormond Street, the U.K.’s most famous children’s hospital, worked with Adam&Eve/DDB to create the campaign. The effort also includes a new animation with children’s cartoon "Hey Duggee," and forthcoming collaborations with the "Horrid Henry" book series and BBC kids' show "JoJo and Gran Gran."  They address issues such as anxiety, childhood cancer, loneliness and loss, and are aimed not just at sick kids in hospital, but all children as they cope with the challenges of growing up and build resilience.

Housed on a digital "play hub," the campaign includes a new audiobook poem, available on mobile, celebrating the 150th anniversary of "Alice Through the Looking Glass," narrated by Matt Lucas, in which Tweedledee feels separation anxiety from Tweedledum. In collaboration with classic kids' comic "Beano," the campaign created a new "Dennis and Gnasher" story in which Dennis the Menace has to cope with a leukaemia diagnosis, eventually losing his famous head of hair while having chemotherapy. 

Meanwhile J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, to which GOSH famously owns the rights, features in a brand new story in which he experiences loneliness after losing the Lost Boys, while Tinkerbell gives him the confidence he needs to tackle this. The new short from animation "Hey Duggee" centers around anxiety, featuring a frog who has lots of siblings. 

The two forthcoming assets are an audiobook in which Horrid Henry comes to term with the loss of his grandmother, and a "JoJo and Gran Gran" story that tackles the issue of visible differences.

The launch of the hub is supported by media including print, out-of-home, PR and a TV ad voiced by Olivia Colman. Print books will be given away at U.K. newsagents, and assets such as the comic book will be available for kids in the hospital. Media is being handled by Hearts & Sciences.

While the idea has been two years in the making, it launches in the wake of the pandemic.  Research released earlier in the year by GOSH Charity revealed two thirds (66%) of parents polled said they were concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on how children play will have long-term impacts on their child's wellbeing. Three-quarters (74%) of parents said that play has “helped their child cope” as the world around them has changed beyond recognition.

“Play is a superpower at the fingertips of all children, and it’s especially important at times of change or worry, when building our children’s resilience can help them to cope with life’s challenges," said Laura Walsh, head of play at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in a statement.

"Whether using creative play to restore a child’s confidence, or imaginative play to explain cancer treatment, the aim was to show how it can help children deal with any issues in life in a fun, yet informative way," added Andy McAnaney and Christian Sewell, the creative team at Adam&Eve/DDB. "Enabling all children to deal with difficult feelings both big and small.”