Have you seen our new TV ads for Foster Care? Lutheran Care’s new Foster Care: Be the Village advertising campaign began airing on Channel 7 on Sunday, December 10.  

The playful and creative advertisement – based around the fun and adventure that can flow from Foster Care – is designed to spark interest and inspire conversations around fostering.  

This ad is the first in a series of three which represent different aspects of fostering, through the lens of diverse families at different seasons of life providing care to children and young people.  

In the first ad, we see a respite carer practising playing a car racing video game ahead of the weekend when she will be hosting two young people. The ad cuts to the three of them playing the video game, and then transitions to a subsequent respite care weekend where they’re enjoying friendly competition at the Tailem Bend go kart track. 

The campaign’s theme focuses on the guaranteed adventure that is Foster Care. The road will have challenges and the journey will take twists and turns. What no one promises is that the road will be straight and smooth. 

We know there are many untold stories of fun and adventure that flow from being a Foster Carer, alongside the more challenging aspects of caring for a child or young person who may have complex needs. The joy and rewards of fostering and making a difference in a child’s life are often what Foster Carers share as among the deep motivations that keep them fostering when the road gets challenging.  

While acknowledging that the role of being a Foster Carer is not always fun and exciting, we wanted to create a campaign with playful and uplifting messaging, which would focus on the mutual rewards of safe relationships between young people and the caring adults in their village. 

This innovative ad, backed up by a strong online campaign comprised of images, behind the scenes footage and entertaining shorts that didn’t make the final 30-second cut, is designed to start people thinking about Foster Care and plant further seeds for those who have been thinking about fostering for a little while. We do hope the campaign draws people forward to enquire about becoming a Respite Carer or a Foster Carer providing other types of care. 

Lutheran Care is committed to ongoing investment and strategies to recruit more Foster Carers that can provide stable, supportive and nurturing homes to help children feel safe and cared for while separated from their birth parents, and often siblings. Respite Carers play a powerful role in support of Long Term Foster Carers, and is in increasing demand to support carers that also work full time and juggle school holidays. Our campaign series is one of the ways we are investing in carer recruitment, as we know that prospective carers will often think about fostering for many years before taking their next step and making a formal enquiry.  

We hope this time of year when many people take holidays from work and are focused on family or taking time out to watch some TV or spend time online, that people will also ponder what it could look like for them to open their hearts and homes to children and young people next year. And if the timing is right, we would be delighted to hear from people who are eager to learn more.  

This ad can be seen across TV screens for three weeks in December, including during popular programming such as Channel 7’s cricket coverage, and Christmas carols. Following this period, it will be available to view online. Stay tuned for chapter two coming in the new year.  

If you would like to speak to one of our staff members about your interest in fostering, you can; 

• call 08 8337 8787 
• download our Information Booklet  
• register to attend an upcoming information session, or 
• submit an online enquiry. 

Find out more about fostering and the Lutheran Care Village online here. 

Be the Village.