Powerful & Punchy New Janssen Spot Aims to Make Blood Cancer Visible

Over 900,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with blood cancer every year, but most people are unaware of these serious, often incurable diseases.

Because people don’t understand the disease or what the diagnosis means, blood cancer doesn’t get the attention it needs and is effectively invisible. This lack of awareness means that blood cancer is not prioritised by the EU and many national governments.

Edelman worked with Janssen to develop the ‘Make Blood Cancer Visible’ campaign which encourages people to share their stories and experiences with blood cancer. The centre piece is a short film showing the internal emotional struggle many blood cancer patients go through.

The idea for the film was inspired by an emotional interview with a patient living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, one of the 140 types of blood cancer, who shared what it is like to have an invisible fight every day. On the surface he looks strong, but he faces a continuous struggle against an invisible enemy. Relapse after relapse, round after round.

Edelman and Janssen worked with the director Rollo Hollins and KODE Media to explore the visual language needed to give the film authenticity - making it as emotional and impactful as the patient’s story. The result is a film that visually portrays this internal and emotional struggle that many people who are diagnosed with blood cancer face. The viewer is offered a direct window into the patient’s journey.

The film was shot in black and white on 16mm film, overlaid with tones and textures to convey a visceral feel of the emotional and physical struggle and gain the audience’s understanding.

As part of the campaign, Janssen will also launch a patient perspectives book, a beautiful collection of personal stories shared by individuals affected by blood cancer from across Europe.

The campaign aims to help other patients, their family members, carers and friends – to bring to light the need to transform blood cancers into preventable, chronic or even curable diseases.