Winner
The Big Sneeze
Summary of work
Flu season 2021/22 was unlike any other for parents. COVID was still king and they’d been bombarded with vaccination messaging all year. And then flu was going to make a reappearance for the first time afterCOVID. Surely their kids didn’t need another vaccine? Surely flu couldn’t be as bad as COVID?
The sad truth is, for kids, it can be. And so, with parents still in a spiral of indecision, we needed something to jolt them into action.
So we sneezed on them.
This four-week pilot campaign targeted parents in Manchester , which has one of the UK’s lowest flu vaccination rates. Our immersive cinema ad featured a girl off school with the flu. It played like any other ad until she addressed the audience directly, pointing out how easily flu could spread all crammed in together.
We planted coughing stooges in the audience and used Dolby surround sound to build tension and add immersion until finally our actress sneezes. Thanks to some clever technology her sneeze breaks the fourth wall, spraying the audience with harmless water vapour.
Reactions to both experiences were shared on social media where the campaign was picked up by publications locally, nationally and internationally.
Judges’ comments
The Big Sneeze programme stood out on every level – strategy, insight and measurable outcomes. It had a creative treatment and clearly drove people to go and get vaccinated. The craft was excellence and it all comes together in a coherent piece of work. The judges felt it was a really important project that deserved recognition for the outstanding work done in pharma.
