Life Hangs on a Thread of Hair in New Campaign from Ogilvy Romania

Think of a thread of hair from your head. And then remove it with a simple gesture. And then think again of its fragility. 

We often say that something is hanging on a thread, but we do not always visualize this, especially in the context of life and death matters. What it seems to be a metaphor, is actually something quite tangible. So is the case of children suffering from cancer in Romania. It's a cruel social reality: a poor health sector with no appropriate conditions for the little ones affected and no involvement from authorities. The unfortunate consequence of this  is that in Romania, one of two children suffering of cancer is dying, while in Europe 80% of those affected will eventually survive the disease.

The biggest NGO in Romania – Give Life a Chance – decided to take action and build the first paediatrics, oncology and radiotherapy hospital for children with cancer, a first in Romania. Ogilvy Romania's creative team came up with an advert related to the most common symptoms of cancer – hair loss. This symptom was transformed into a strong message to bring attention on the fact that in Romania, the life of children diagnosed with this disease is really hanging on a thread.

The campaign started from an idea developed for Instagram, with some of the most relevant influencers in Romania posting pictures. When people clicked on the images, they were redirected to the main donation message and details about the campaign. This idea generated, in the end, a significant digital campaign, with lots of key influencers doing the same symbolic gesture: removing a hair from their head, as natural and raw as possible, with a strong message: this is the reality faced by children diagnosed with cancer in Romania. This call to action generated reactions from other influencers and people from their communities who followed their example and did the same gesture.

The impact was so strong and the execution of the idea so emotional and powerful that a one-month campaign generated 1 million euros in donations and thousands of pieces of content related to the campaign in SM. The reactions were immediate with key figures in Romania getting involved alongside regular people, communities and corporations. The symbolic gesture of people removing a hair from their head, as natural and raw as possible, highlighted the reality faced by children diagnosed with cancer in Romania, became a label of this huge action plan.   

Regular people got involved by doing their own videos and spreading the message, following example of key influencers. Other influencers “donated” their birthdays, publicly asking their friends and guests to donate for the cause instead of buying gifts. Echoing the strong impact of the campaign, at the beginning of this year, the biggest donation ever made in Romania was offered by one of largest corporations on the market, another proof of the power of community in action for the sake of a cause. Just a few days ago, another corporation came up with another significant donation.

The story goes on.