To drive home the danger of this slow-acting but potentially lethal infection, DraftFCB employed a graphic parallel so literally
"in your face" that it was impossible to ignore: "The analogy was: Your liver is taking a beating from the virus, and you
aren't doing anything about it," says Birnbaum. "What if your face was taking the same beating? Wouldn't you fight back?"
In 2006, DraftFCB unleashed the hep C spots in subways and bus shelters nationwide. But it was the copy that tempered the
visuals—and empowered patients. "It was important for us to make sure we were motivating them to seek treatment—not just shutting
them off," Birnbaum says.
BUILDING COMMUNITY
Heartbeat Digital
PROJECT
http://Crohnsandme.com/ CLIENT UCB Pharma
LEFT TO RIGHT: Todd Ryan, senior interactive designer, Janelle Starr, director, project management, Lee Slovitt, media supervisor
One of the main challenges Crohn's disease patients face is feeling alone—partly a result of the stigma around this intestinal
disorder. That was the finding of interactive agency Heartbeat Digital, which was tapped by UCB Pharma to create an unbranded
online resource. "In research, we learned that patients didn't know how to connect with each other," says Janelle Starr, project
manager. "This site serves as the community they need."
http://Crohnsandme.com/ posts video featuring Crohn's patients and physicians discussing how best to manage the disease.
FAMILIAR FACES
DDB Worldwide
BRAND Vytorin CLIENT Merck/Schering-Plough
LEFT TO RIGHT: Darren Miller, account director, Tamara Neufeld, management supervisor, Tom McDonnell, creative director, Janet Guillet, group creative director
Marketers have spent nearly 10 years and billions of dollars on cholesterol messaging. The result? Patients are by now callous
to commercials, while the market remains vastly undertreated. So when it came time to develop a campaign for the fifth entrant
into the cholesterol category, Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin), DDB Worldwide knew it needed to go where no other brand has
gone before.
"We learned that people aren't as receptive to the cholesterol story," says Tamara Neufeld, DDB management supervisor. "They
don't feel sick, so they don't think they need something to feel better."
DDB answered patients' ho-hum with a series of catchy, candy-colored print spots featuring paired images of quirky characters
and yummy food—bearing an uncanny resemblance. The message was clear: There are two sources of high cholesterol, food and
family. This opened up the dialog on disease to patients who thought that they were controlling their cholesterol with diet.
It also hinted at Vytorin as a two-in-one combo pill.
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