The Garvan Institute Confronts the Public With ‘Disease Dilemmas’ via BWM dentsu
The Garvan Institute of Medical Research has partnered with BWM dentsu to launch its first nationwide campaign, to raise awareness and funding for its ground-breaking genomics research.
There are thousands of disease-related charities in Australia. But unless you have a personal connection to a specific cause, this excess of charities creates a real dilemma – how do you decide who to help?
‘Disease Dilemmas’ puts Australians in the uncomfortable position of trying to choose who they’d donate to – the young mother with pancreatic cancer or the retired musician with Parkinson’s disease? The teacher with a kidney condition or the student with immune disease?
These impossible choices are brought to life as portrait pairings of real people living with different diseases, each execution posing its own unique dilemma that challenges people to think, interact and ultimately donate to Garvan, whose genomics research can help them all.
View the full playlist of films
Says Mara-Jean Tilley, director, Garvan Research Foundation: “We are incredibly grateful to our 12 heroes, the men and women living with disease, who shared their personal stories in such a raw and powerful way. We know the power of medical research to change lives – we see it. It’s a privilege for the Garvan Institute to be able to share these stories and really articulate the hope that medical research can provide.”
All hero testimonials are based on a genuine connection to Garvan and were voluntarily shared to inspire and move the public to action.
Says Oskar Westerdal and Jon Foye, creative directors at BWM dentsu: “Getting to know our heroes has certainly proven just how impossible it is to choose supporting one disease over another. Bringing these stories to life has been emotional, humbling and incredibly inspiring, and we are so grateful for the support of our director-photographer Simon Harsent, the Pool Collective and all our production partners who’ve made it all happen.”
The Garvan cause mobilised the industry to collaborate. Alongside the Pool Collective, the campaign counted on support from Fin, Rumble Studios and Bopper. From the dentsu network, Isobar, Haystac, dentsu Amplifi and Carat joined forces with BWM dentsu. The work is entirely pro-bono and includes strategy, creative, media, PR and support from the media partners.
Starting Monday 8 March with print, the media plan includes TV, radio, digital, OOH, cinema and takeovers in train stations and a sports stadium.
Says Marcus Tesoriero, ECD, BWM dentsu: “Charity overload is a real challenge for the Australian public, so we can’t wait for this campaign to fully roll out and tackle the issue in a variety of formats. In addition to screen exposure, the mass of media placements, that have been secured through dentsu media and our generous partners, have allowed us to physically impose disease dilemmas in busy public spaces, train stations and even sports stadiums – capturing people’s attention in a big way, showing how one donation gives to all.”
