Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Oasis Collector's Edition is HERE! - Get yours before they go.
GET MINE
News

#TakeTheBigIssue: Why you must ALWAYS take your copy

In a new campaign, comedian Seann Walsh joins a merry band of vendors to dispel some common myths about The Big Issue

The Big Issue

The Big Issue


Today, we launch a brand new campaign to bust some Big Issue myths and promote the everyday, life-changing efforts of our hardworking vendors.

Our #TakeTheBigIssue video, below – made in association with marketing behemoth Saatchi & Saatchi, director Jim Owen and Partizan production house – stars comedian Seann Walsh.

Brief and very funny, it sees Walsh – and a number of our vendors – skillfully fillet a host of misconceptions that have grown around The Big Issue.

For 25 years The Big Issue has made a big difference to a lot of lives. But like any great British institution myths grow and need addressing.

We hope you enjoy it, encourage others to enjoy it – and to go out and buy The Big Issue.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

And as we frequently like to remind everyone, for £2.50 (the price of a cup of coffee) you’re helping change someone’s life. And, of course, getting a show-stopping, award-winning magazine.

Here are some of the myths that the film addresses…

“If I give them money they’ll just spend it on drugs.”

We support vendors with addiction problems – but not all of them have these problems. And who are we to say what you or anybody else should spend your hard-earned wages on? If you go clubbing, eat junk food, buy a bottle of wine on Fridays, that’s your business.

“They get the magazine for free. They must be making loads of money.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

They wish! Vendors run their own micro-business, paying us £1.25 for each copy – they buy their stock just like every other high street retailer. Of the £2.50 you’ve shelled out, they make £1.25 and £1.25 goes to us to print next week’s Issue and cover our running costs.

“I’ll give them money but tell the vendor keep the magazine.”

Don’t do this. Don’t turn your vendor into a beggar. ALWAYS TAKE THE MAGAZINE. Vendors are working. And its is a fantastic, award-winning magazine – take it, read it, you’ll love it! Giving vendors a handout – not taking the magazine – goes against everything we stand for.

MORE BIG ISSUE MYTHS

“The Big Issue uses homeless people to make loads of money…”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

The Big Issue magazine is a social enterprise, a business that puts our profits back into helping others who are homeless, vulnerably housed or at extreme disadvantage.

“Selling The Big Issue is just a scam…”

Being a magazine salesperson on a busy street is not an easy option – if you were looking for a ‘scam’ to make fast money, you wouldn’t be selling The Big Issue.

“It’s not supposed to be a long-term job…”

We have to accept that there are some people who come to us who will never be able to join or rejoin the mainstream of society. For those people, we think continuing as a vendor is better for them and society than pulling the plug on our support and possibly pushing them into begging.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

“I saw a vendor shopping at Waitrose…”

Everyone deserves a little luxury, especially if you work as hard as a Big Issue vendor. Smile and say hello, hopefully it means they’ve had a good week!

Our 2020 Impact Report

The Big Issue has given more than £1 million support to Big Issue vendors struggling due to the lockdown restrictions. To mark the significant milestone, we have published an impact report, documenting the seismic shift the organisation has undergone in the past 12 months.

View Report

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
Thousands of disabled people face ten-month wait for benefits due to DWP backlog
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
Disability benefits

Thousands of disabled people face ten-month wait for benefits due to DWP backlog

How did Keir Starmer get in such a dreadful mess over disability benefit cuts?
Disability benefits

How did Keir Starmer get in such a dreadful mess over disability benefit cuts?

Disability benefit cuts violate human rights even with concessions, MPs warned ahead of vote
Keir Starmer
Disability benefits

Disability benefit cuts violate human rights even with concessions, MPs warned ahead of vote

It never crossed my mind I might need disability benefits. Now I don't know where I'd be without PIP
Haitham Elmasri
Disability benefits

It never crossed my mind I might need disability benefits. Now I don't know where I'd be without PIP

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.