Rewinding through a few key campaigns
People take their health much more seriously today than in past decades and this requires a variety of talents to create compelling solutions for the unmet needs of both our clients and their audiences. As a Creative Director, I am constantly in search of inspiration for my teams and there is certainly no shortage in our wildly over-connected world. Channels continue to emerge and our ability to adapt and provide content is a constant. Cross-channel has also become something quite different than it was in more traditional times and ideas are expressing themselves in unique and ubiquitous ways, and video can be a particularly powerful asset.
Bringing life insurance to life
On the other side of the globe, a Thai life insurance company told a heartwarming story of a man reaping the rewards of paying it forward. We move through his daily life with him and we see how some of the smallest gestures can have profound results over time. Shot in an honest and gritty style, and narrated with a thoughtful script, it’s hard not to get a little welled up at the end. With over 5 million impressions on YouTube, this too has touched quite a few viewers.
A.1. expands its inner circle
Take for instance, the pseudo rebranding of a beloved item on many tables across the U.S. – A.1. Steak Sauce. The time came for the brand to be known for its ability to enhance recipes well beyond a good cut of beef (and a not so good cut of beef). So, how could the brand effectively socialize this change? Leveraging the YouTube community, the brand created a very clever video experience that moves the viewer through A.1.’s rebranding via a humorous, and at times, touching first-person perspective. The video personifies the A.1. brand by creating a Facebook profile for the popular sauce. Once A.1. begins accepting friend requests from foods that aren’t steak (such as Pork and Lobster), the sauce and Steak go through a somewhat tumultuous “break-up.” At almost 1.5 million hits, I think people really enjoyed the gag.
The struggle is real
This last example is very close to my heart, as I lost my sister some years ago to the nightmare that is obesity and the subsequent complications after she decided to go through with a gastric bypass procedure. Some years later, I had the opportunity to work with an amazing client for one of the largest weight loss program companies in the country on a comprehensive program for health care professionals. It renewed my faith in helping people to get ahead of that curve, so they can reduce their weight naturally and have the support of people around them who share in the complicated world of eating disorders.
What resonated with me in this video story was the influence of a person’s environment on their eating behaviors. Shot from a first-person perspective, it makes it feel all the more real. The viewer takes a rollercoaster ride with a boy who becomes a man and struggles with food until he ends up in a place no one ever wants to find themselves – a hospital gurney. On this journey, we follow his experience backward, watching key moments throughout his life in a fast-paced reverse-chronology flashback. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta created the Strong4Life campaign to educate people, especially parents, on ways to avoid the path to obesity, or reverse their child’s current position on that path, by providing real-life tips and expert advice on their website.
They employ this dramatic video to point viewers to that content and, seeing as YouTube is the second largest search engine on the web, it’s a smart place to gain such awareness. Even if viewers don’t continue to the Strong4Life site, the unifying message is clear. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has very good reason for supporting this initiative; Georgia has over a million kids who are either overweight or obese.
Authenticity resonates
What these videos all have in common is an emotional connection with their audience that epitomizes the problems that each initiative is trying to solve; the reimagining of a 40-year-old brand viewed through a social media parody, a life insurance company’s message of doing good for others by connecting viewers with one man’s experiences, and a cautious reminder from a children’s health organization that every environmental factor around a child affects their health, and ultimately, their journey to adulthood.
Each video succeeds in lending us the character’s viewpoint to make the experience as real and honest as possible, enabling the audience to connect emotionally with the messages, and creating an experience that is sure to have a lasting effect.
