Ireland now has free education. But very few people know it took the courage on one man, acting alone, to make it happen. It was an idea that had resulted in huge social and economic change in Ireland and kick started Ireland dragging itself out of being one of the poorest countries in Europe.

This is the story of the very personal struggle of the actor we cast to play one of the most challenging roles of his career… That of his own late, father. This was about more than making a TV ad, it was about recreating a monumental speech of historical significance in its entirety. All footage of this speech had been lost by the national archive and was in danger of being forgotten forever. It lay on the shoulders of actor Daragh O’Malley to safeguard his own father’s legacy.

Most Insurance companies encourage you to LIVE CAREFULLY.

We wanted our message to be to LIVE FULLY

Courage is the ability to choose hope over fear.

Insurance is one thing that can help mange fear, giving you the courage to progress.

And Allianz have had a long history of covering courage.

So our idea is:

WE COVER COURAGE.

We wanted to demonstrated how true acts of individual courage enabled people to pursue their dreams and goals. We showcased and champion inclusive and empowering moments of courage. We also wanted to tackle stereotypes such as self serving politicians and transcend people perceptions of disabilities.

We dived deep into Allianz past and history over the last 120 years. We talked to many staff and customers and w visited the Allianz museum, read the History book of Allianz.

The breakthrough insight came when we discovered that Allianz had insured incredible acts of courage: They covered one of the greatest acts of courage, Charles Lindenburg solo flight across the Atlantic!, The building of the Golden Gate bridge, they even gave car insurance to fastest electric car on the planet - setting the land speed record, and finally they have just done a deal with Virgin, giving the next space passengers travel insurance!

Insight: Insurance companies should considered the sexiest brands ever!

The amazing thing about insurance is - nothing happens without it. Insurance is the one thing that lets people get out there and do thing, make things happen, build stuff,

Casting someone to play the child version of a well-known sports personality is always challenging. But it is particularly challenging when the person in question has a rare physical impairment. Ellen Keane, is a champion swimmer who was born missing her lower left arm. We wanted to tell the story of a courageous moment from her childhood. Due to social stigma the pool of people with a disability who can act is very small. After an exhaustive search of Ireland and the UK we finally found Tate Willis. Tate had an uncanny resemblance and had exactly the same impairment as Ellen. But we soon realised that their similarities were far more than skin deep. This became much more than an ad, it’s the story about the empowerment of the girl we cast.

It might just be the role of a lifetime.

It was clear that we’d made a campaign that genuinely hit a nerve and meant something to people. The media, journalists, politicians and people were actually talking about insurance ads in warm, emotional terms rather than slagging them off about spiraling insurance costs.

The campaign made headlines across every national newspaper within weeks after launch. It was shared and commented on across all social channels. Donagh O’ Malley ad has been become a cultural asset loved by all and treasured by anyone with interest in education or history, even featured on History Teachers Association of Ireland. The ad has reignited the debate about brave politicans and the need another O'Malley to open the doors of learning for all.

This campaign appears to have helped in a small way to help future generations to be less likely to try and hide their disability.

Reach 3.5 million - 70% of Irish Population.