Just A Coffee: A Film to Normalise and Encourage Breastfeeding in Public
Just A Coffee is a short public health awareness film created by Narrative Alchemy and 2 Pears Films, in partnership with Leicester City Council. The film was produced to normalise and encourage breastfeeding in public, using the power of story-led filmmaking to shift perception and inspire confidence among new mothers.
Told through the intimate voice of a mother reflecting on her own fears, the story follows her journey from anxiety and isolation to comfort and connection. Set in a welcoming local café, Just A Coffee highlights how empathy and community support can transform an everyday experience, reminding viewers that Leicester is a friendly and safe place to breastfeed.
Developed using a trauma-informed, psychologically grounded, and research-based approach, the film demonstrates how storytelling can drive real behavioural change in public health.
Scroll down to explore the full campaign case study, including how we extended the film’s reach through a targeted social media strategy; creating teasers, trailers, and countdown campaigns optimised for engagement, accessibility, and impact.
Phase One: Teasers
To help build momentum around our short film Just A Coffee, we created five teaser trailers designed specifically for social media. Each teaser offers a glimpse into the film’s world and themes — short, emotionally resonant moments crafted to spark curiosity and conversation.
We optimised the trailers for online audiences by producing them in a portrait (9:16) format, ensuring they fit seamlessly into platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
To deepen the emotional connection, we incorporated on-screen titles drawn directly from key lines in the script. These lines were carefully chosen to reflect the film’s central themes and to offer audiences a glimpse into the real-life challenges the story explores. Each title was designed to resonate with viewers on a personal level, hinting at both the struggles faced by the characters and the hope that the film ultimately offers.
To build anticipation ahead of the film’s release, we also included a countdown timer within the teasers, creating a sense of excitement and shared anticipation among the clients’ followers.
Together, these creative choices helped extend the life of Just A Coffee online; transforming a short film into a broader social storytelling campaign that invited audiences to connect, reflect, and engage with its message before the full release.
Phase Two: Trailers
In addition to our teaser campaign, we produced three main trailers for Just A Coffee — each offering a deeper look into the story and the emotional journey of our main character, Meg. At around twice the length of the teasers, these trailers were designed to build a stronger connection with the audience and reveal more of the film’s heart.
Each trailer focuses on a different stage of Meg’s journey:
Trailer 01 introduces Meg’s struggles; the challenges of breastfeeding and the anxiety that comes with it. It invites the audience to understand her sense of isolation and the emotional weight she carries.
Trailer 02 explores Meg’s fear of breastfeeding in public, then follows her as she meets two other mums who share their own experiences. Their openness and kindness begin to change how Meg sees herself, leaving her wondering if she, too, might belong in that world of quiet confidence.
Trailer 03 completes her arc, showing Meg fully at ease breastfeeding in public; a moment that symbolises her restored confidence and well-being. It’s a celebration of growth, empowerment, and the support that helps new mothers thrive.
Each trailer closes with a countdown to the film’s release, maintaining the sense of excitement and anticipation first established by the teasers. As with the teasers, we optimised all three trailers for social media by producing them in a portrait (9:16) aspect ratio and adding subtitles, ensuring the content remained accessible, engaging, and perfectly suited to mobile viewing. Together, these trailers not only promoted the film but also expanded its impact, turning Meg’s personal journey into a shared story that resonates with audiences and opens conversations about confidence, community, and maternal support.
The extended duration of the trailers also allowed us to showcase the client’s logo alongside the partner organisations, highlighting the collaborative effort behind the film.
Phase Three: The Film
Optimising Just A Coffee for Social Media
To maximise reach and engagement, we broke Just A Coffee into five short segments, each around 60 seconds in length. This approach allowed us to adapt the film for social media while preserving its emotional impact and narrative flow.
Sharing the film in smaller, digestible segments offers multiple benefits:
Wider audience reach: Shorter clips are more likely to be watched, shared, and engaged with on social platforms than longer videos, increasing visibility beyond the client’s existing audience.
Driving traffic to the website: Each clip acts as a gateway, encouraging viewers to visit the client’s website to watch the full film and learn more about the campaign.
Sustained engagement: Releasing the film in parts keeps audiences coming back, building anticipation and allowing each moment of the story to resonate fully.
This strategy ensures that the campaign’s message of normalising and encouraging breastfeeding in public, is delivered effectively, meeting audiences where they are online and fostering meaningful conversations across digital platforms.
To make the segments fully social media-ready, we produced them in a portrait (9:16) format and added subtitles for increased accessibility. These design choices ensured the film was engaging, inclusive, and easy to watch on mobile devices, while emphasising the central messages of confidence, support, and community for new mothers.
This approach allowed the campaign to reach a broader audience, amplify impact, and drive meaningful engagement, all while staying true to the emotional heart of Just A Coffee.
Phase Four: Subtitled Version of Just A Coffee
In addition to the main film, we created a fully subtitled version of Just A Coffee to make the story accessible to a wider audience. Subtitles ensure that viewers can engage with the film regardless of where or how they watch it; whether in a quiet public space, without sound on social media, or for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Benefits of including a subtitled version:
Accessibility: Makes the film inclusive for audiences with hearing impairments or those who rely on captions.
Mobile-friendly viewing: Many social media users watch videos without sound; subtitles allow the story to be understood in any context.
Enhanced engagement: Viewers are more likely to watch and share subtitled content, increasing reach and impact.
Clarity of messaging: Key lines and important moments are highlighted, reinforcing the film’s central themes and messages.
International reach: Subtitles can be adapted into multiple languages, broadening the potential audience.
By providing a subtitled version, we ensured that Just A Coffee is accessible, engaging, and impactful for every viewer, amplifying the film’s message of support, confidence, and community for new mothers.