As the U.K. emerges from its third period of lockdown, unemployment remains high at 4.9%, but a new TV ad from LinkedIn points to the green shoots of recovery through the metaphor of a neglected houseplant.

The spot, created by VCCP and directed through the agency by David Edwards, depicts unemployed "Vik," who is emerging bleary-eyed from a period at home. His only companion is his rather sorry-looking desk plant. As Vik starts taking small steps on LinkedIn towards finding a new job, with support from his professional community, viewers see his confidence recover and grow alongside that of the plant, which he eventually christens "Robert."

A wider integrated campaign will see LinkedIn teaming up with a series of influencers to talk about their career growth and, in-keeping with the plant theme, the professional network will host a #KeepGrowing social activation for members to win one of hundreds of houseplants. The campaign will culminate with a socially-distanced careers event in June.

"It’s been a challenging year for all of us, but green shoots are emerging, and we wanted the new ad to reflect that," stated LinkedIn Director of Brand Marketing Darian Faraz. "The pandemic has changed how our members interact with LinkedIn - we’ve seen extraordinary engagement on the platform and countless heartwarming examples of the LinkedIn community coming together to support each other through these challenging times."

"It’s been wonderful to work on a campaign that's so relevant to the moment we're all living in, we’ve all seen family and friends go through the difficulties of this time," added Matt Lloyd, executive creative director at VCCP. "We wanted our creative to tell the story that on LinkedIn it's the small steps that make the big difference, and you don't need the loudest voice to be heard.”