Date of implementation or launch:

November 7, 2014 – December 23, 2014

Objectives and Challenges:

The Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto, Canada, is among the world’s leading health care facilities for children. But like most charities, it can be overlooked during the hectic holiday season. They had to find a way to get people to take time out of their busy, stressful, tiring day to take notice and make a donation.

Insight and concept:

We all have busy lives and it’s easy to get caught up in our own problems. But things can always be worse. Sometimes we need a massive dose of perspective, like seeing what a sick child is going through, to put life into focus.

Execution:

For this campaign, JWT abandoned the traditional approach of a single commercial and adopted a timelier theme. For nearly two months, they ran a new commercial every day to remind people what was happening in the hospital right that minute - each featuring a new patient and giving a different view into the hospital. So as viewers were watching TV on November 10, they learned how Taylum, a 2-yearold boy, was in need of a kidney transplant. Or as they watched on December 4, they learned how 12-year-old Wahaab was literally in the middle of a 9-hour surgery to remove his colon cancer. There were many battles, victories, and losses, but they all carried the same message: “Help make their tomorrow as good as your today.”

Results:

The campaign helped the hospital achieve the most social media engagement they had ever seen – 88 million impressions. But the real success came by way of donations. In December 2014, the hospital received the highest amount in donations for one month in the hospital’s 42-year history, $37 million, exceeding the previous year by $8 million. But those weren’t the only donations. Over 20 different media companies donated media, and the song “Fix You” was donated by Coldplay.