Nest and Aardman Team up for Creative Pension Campaign

Sep. 29, 2025

Nest, the UK’s largest workplace pension scheme by number of members, has collaborated with multi-award-winning, independent animation studio Aardman, on a new campaign to drive awareness and motivate people to take an active interest in their pensions. One in three UK workers has a Nest pension, and the campaign highlights that whilst people go about their normal working day, their Nest pensions are steadily building for their future in the background.

Appearing on YouTube from 29 September, the campaign consists of two stories created in collaboration with the creative force behind beloved characters such as Wallace & Gromit. Aardman brings its signature style, introducing viewers to a series of humorous animated birds representing Nest members in everyday human work scenarios. Nest also worked with creative agency Atomic London, who developed a long-term brand strategy that brings Nest members front and centre.

The films are set in a giant Nest tree, inhabited by a range of bird species living and working together. Each story is narrated by comedian, musician, author and keen birder Bill Bailey. They focus on a little moment of day-to-day working life and are representative of the diverse jobs that real life Nest members have, illustrating that pensions are part of everyone’s working lives.

The characters include a parakeet hair stylist with a nervous client, a dove waiter attending to a particularly messy woodpecker customer, a bullfinch encountering scanning issues at the supermarket check-out, and a bluetit working from home and navigating the usual tech hiccups of remote video calls. They are all focused on their work while their Nest pensions, represented by their orange eggs, are with them in the background.

The ads finish with the strapline “together, we’ll build you a bigger pension”.

The creative aims to prompt people to think about their pensions and, by making pensions more relatable and less intimidating, Nest wants to encourage more people to take an active interest in their retirement savings. 

Pippa Strutt, Nest’s Director of Brand, said:

“We’re excited to see our new campaign take flight. One in three UK workers now save with Nest – that's more than 13 million people. With this campaign, we want to illustrate that pensions are an important part of our working lives, building quietly in the background. Pensions don’t have to be intimidating, and we want people to engage with them sooner, rather than later. Partnering with Aardman, which like us is a purpose-driven organisation, allows us to bring this important message to life in a warm and accessible way.”

 

Steve Harding-Hill, Creative Director of Short Form & Commercials at Aardman added:

"We’re thrilled to bring Aardman’s trademark storytelling, warmth and wit to this new campaign for Nest. As a studio that’s long entertained the nation, it’s a privilege to help speak to that same audience about something as important as their future."