Macmillan Cancer Support Launches First Original Branded Entertainment Project
Macmillan Cancer Support, the UK’s leading source of cancer support, has launched its first brand partnership with Channel 4 and Wonderhood Studios. Through Macmillan Cancer Support’s services, the integrated campaign shows how cancer impacts people’s lives in ways you might not have initially imagined, and how Macmillan Cancer Support does whatever it takes to support them.
Launching with a three-part documentary series, Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life, airs on Channel 4 from Monday 18th July. The series was produced by the team behind Grierson and BAFTA-nominated Baby Surgeons and has exclusive access to The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, one of the world’s leading cancer hospitals. It follows pioneering surgical oncologists as they employ ground-breaking new technology to try and save or prolong the lives of their patients, working at the forefront of what is medically possible and often on incredibly rare cancers. Each episode features real-life audio from the Macmillan Cancer Support Line, showing how they support people living with cancer across the UK.
In addition to their branded idents around the docu-series, Macmillan Cancer Support is launching four short films that takes their storytelling further and highlight how Macmillan Cancer Support does whatever it takes to support people living with cancer, no matter what the circumstances. The short films will be linked from All 4 and hosted on Macmillan Cancer Support’s website, and centre around real-life stories of people who have been supported by Macmillan Cancer Support’s services. Examples include a deaf person living with cancer receiving the support of a British Sign Language interpreter as they navigate the overwhelming world of diagnoses and tests, and a Macmillan specialist nurse travelling by land and sea to reach people living with cancer in remote areas such as the Outer Hebrides where there are no oncologists. The brand sponsorship idents (5”, 10”, 15”) will air around the series and show how Macmillan Cancer Support offers support in different and surprising ways.
To drive people to watch the short forms showing Macmillan Cancer Support in action, Wonderhood Studios has created a suite of online and social assets, including posts and stories across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, YouTube mastheads and in-stream, and assets for All 4 including a programme skin and Ad pause.
Sam Brown, business lead at Wonderhood Studios, said, Super Surgeons in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support presented us with an opportunity to bring together our advertising and TV production studios, and deliver a unique brand narrative through authentic documentary content. We are incredibly proud of the series and the communications eco-system that we have built around it – it is a great example of how we’re helping innovative brands communicate with audiences in a more meaningful way.”
Anthony Newman, brand and marketing director at Macmillan, added, “Someone is diagnosed with cancer every 90 seconds, and every diagnosis comes with questions, worry and uncertainty. We are in collaboration with this ground-breaking series to help more people understand how cancer can disrupt your life, and to show the army of people, from super surgeons to the Macmillan team, who will do whatever it takes to help you through it. It is vital that people get a realistic look into the different ways cancer affects people, and the stories of people living with cancer will take centre stage in this important docuseries.”
Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life is executive produced by James W Newton and Katharine Patrick, who received a 2021 Grierson nomination for Channel 4 series Baby Surgeons. It is produced and directed by Joy Ash and the Series Director is Ben Rumney. It was commissioned by Jonah Weston for Channel 4. The series is being distributed internationally by BBC Studios.
