This Children’s Hospital Reframed the Significance of Birthdays with a Powerful Brand Film
Within Canada, and perhaps even globally, the ‘SickKids VS’ platform is one of the most iconic fundraising initiatives to come out of the medical sector. After all, year after year, people eagerly anticipate the SickKids Foundation’s memorable, visually-stunning creative, which never fails to rally people to continue supporting its patients as best they can.
Of course, both the brand and platform have seen a lot of transformation over the last decade. While that probably doesn’t surprise anyone – shift is inevitable within an ever-evolving world – something which really underscored this fact was FCB Canada landing the SickKids account ahead of this year’s campaign. A move which raised a lot of questions about whether the tone of the work would remain similar to past iterations, what type of creative approach would be utilised, and, crucially, if the brand would retain its iconic ‘SickKids VS’ platform name despite the transition, it seems that as of yesterday, the world now has the answer to all these questions.
Launching its new brand film, titled ‘The Count’, this installment is undoubtedly a worthy evolution of all that has come before. Testament to the agency’s ability to take a trial by fire and come out unburnt – creating a 150th anniversary campaign for a brand of this size as a first collaboration is not exactly a small task – this year’s spot is a beautiful watch which packs an emotional punch. Drawing upon the theme of birthdays, the Foundation underscores that for the children it serves, every birthday is something that has to be fought for by many. Emphasised via athletic training sequences woven together with birthday imagery, it’s a concept which is best seen to be understood and appreciated, and which you should do, below.
To learn more about how this all came to life, as well as the new partnership between the two, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with SickKids Foundation's director, brand strategy and communications, Roy Gruia, and director of public relations Sandra Choivitti, as well as FCB Canada executive creative director Andrew MacPhee, associate creative directors Brendan McMullen and Jacob Pacey, senior vice president, strategy Shelagh Hartford, and group account director Rose Noble, for a chat.
LBB> Creating a 150th anniversary campaign while also marking your first collaboration together is no small task! As such, what was the brief, and how did you ensure you’d come out of the gate swinging?
Roy> The brief to FCB was that we needed an inspiring fundraising campaign centred around the hospital's 150th – one that puts the kids front and centre, like all our campaigns do. However, between the fact that this is such a huge milestone, and that this was our first campaign with FCB, we were keenly aware that this campaign would say a lot about the direction of the hospital and the direction of the brand, so that was a layer as well.
Shelagh> When doing an anniversary campaign, I think there’s a trap of making it too much about you. So, from the beginning, we knew we wanted to avoid that and keep our focus on the kids, while still ensuring the role of the hospital and the momentousness of its birthday wasn’t lost.
With this in mind, we landed at a very focused brief that ‘every kid deserves a birthday’. I think this immediately sent the creative exploration in a very specific direction that remained focused on the future and motivating action for future birthdays, rather than only celebrating the successes of the past 150 years.
LBB> The idea of fighting for every birthday is incredibly powerful. What made this approach right for the brand, and the perfect way to celebrate this milestone?
Roy> I think there was a natural connection between the hospital’s birthday, what the hospital does, and the idea that by financially supporting the hospital on its birthday, one birthday begets another. The idea that we fight for every birthday really allowed us to make the kids the heroes, while still depicting the role of the hospital, because it’s a collective ‘we’. The kids are fighting for every birthday, and so is the hospital and everyone inside it.
LBB. Notably, you decided to keep the iconic ‘SickKids VS’ platform for this first collaboration. What was that discussion like, and why did it feel right to carry over into this new partnership?
Rose> A lot of the discussion wasn’t immediately go versus no-go around ‘SickKids VS’, strictly speaking. It was more about evolving the tone of the brand, and whether or not we could (or should) shift the tone within ‘SickKids VS’, or by way of another (new) platform.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the platform, and from the start, Shelley Brown, our chief strategy officer, would repeat every meeting that ‘SickKids VS’ is the best healthcare platform in the world. I think everyone on our team felt the same, so we were all unanimous that the way forward was to maintain the incredible equity it has while shifting the tone within the platform.
LBB> Building on this, how did you pay homage to older SickKids work, while also creating a new, meaningful concept? And what made the idea of fusing birthday and athletic training imagery the right way to do this?
Andrew> In one of our meetings, I distinctly remember one of our clients talking about the ideal tone as ‘fight mode’. We talked about how up until this point, the classic ‘SickKids VS’ tone, so to speak, was showing kids fighting against an enemy. It bore a strong platform, but it put too much focus on the negative. The goal for us was to shift the tone into being more about a fight for something – making it more positive – while still staying in ‘fight mode’.
Even going as far back as the pitch, we talked about how fighting against something and fighting for something are two sides of the same coin, so it was quite the tightrope to ensure we pushed the tone sufficiently to be more positive, while not overshooting and having the work lose its teeth.
To answer the second question, we really saw this 150th birthday campaign as the perfect vehicle for that shift, so that was the filter we were using when evaluating concepts. When Jacob and Brendan brought this idea of athletic training imagery blended with birthday imagery as a way in, we immediately latched onto it, because athletes training are the perfect parallel. It’s a high-intensity, often solitary fight, working towards a goal, rather than fighting against an enemy.
LBB> From here, what was the writing process like? How did you work to really integrate the two concepts seamlessly, and ensure there was powerful imagery to back everything up?
Jacob> We’d been working away on ideas for a week or two and had some stuff we liked, but it still felt like we were circling a bit, putting ideas on top of ideas. However, we were craving something that was much simpler and more immediate. What eventually became the script started as a single idea: a kid punching a red birthday balloon like it was a boxing speed bag. So, fusing those two types of imagery was the concept from the beginning.
After we had that one image, Brendan and I started to jam on more of these blended metaphors, and the degree to which the mixing of the two aspects felt seamless or contrived then became how we’d evaluate each scenario.
Once we came up with enough scenarios for a script, we brought it to Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, our chief creative officer, as well as Andrew, and they got really excited by it and we all started jamming on more scenarios. And when director Clément Durou came on board, he also started pitching in some of his own. By the end, we had a real wealth of riches and were able to choose our absolute favourites, leaving the rest in the Google Docs graveyard.
LBB> Speaking of Clément Durou, why was he the right director for the job? What was that partnership like, and how did you work to find your ideal cast?
Andrew> We leaned on the FCB network to reach out to some international production houses to gauge interest – the budget not being huge. Right away, Charles-Marie Anthonioz from Iconoclast reached out to Matt Blitz, our head of production in Chicago, and said Clément wanted to talk. His reel has a great mix of work that’s very heartfelt and work for high performance brands like Nike, and after speaking with him, it really seemed like we were all equally excited to make something that blended those two worlds together.
All in all, Clément was an incredible collaborator, and the kids loved working with him too. He speaks perfect English, but there were a few patients who attended French immersion who had a lot of fun surprising him by talking back to him in French when he gave direction.
The director of photography, Shady Hanna, was also a huge part of this. Not only does everything look amazing, but a lot of the spot was shot on handheld, so he was very close up with the kids and did a great job helping them feel comfortable while coaching some of the younger ones. There are great photos of him holding the camera with one hand and miming direction with the other.
Sandra> Spending time on set by itself takes a huge amount of time and energy from patients and their families, so we don’t do auditions. Instead, we have an incredible Patient Ambassador team that works very closely with patients and their families to recruit for big communications efforts like this. They know all the children and their families so well they almost act like a casting agent would, where we can rely on their judgement for who would be good for which part and who would be comfortable doing what.
In terms of the hospital staff, it’s also all real doctors and nurses, and everyone was so generous with their time. We had staff who came in on days off or came to set before or after shifts. There were also a lot of medical staff who helped source equipment, prepared spaces in the hospital, and aided the production in ways that don’t ever appear on camera – they all deserve a lot of credit as well.
LBB> What was the production process like? Where did you shoot, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes from on set?
Rose> We shot on location for three days, with the majority of it taking place over the weekend when the hospital was less busy.
Everyone on set was so professional and the kids had so much fun. I think it was easy to feel like this was another normal shoot, but a few times, when the patients walked onto set and got ready for their scene, everything would come to a total standstill and go completely silent. Those moments really stood out.
Roy> I think because of the subject matter, an outside observer might expect the mood on set to be quite grim, but the kids always bring a great energy and have a tonne of fun.
Something which really stood out, however, was that like many directors, Clément would always say “one more, one more”... and eventually the kids started poking fun at him. One little girl even said really loudly after one take, “I learned when a director says one more, they never mean one.” We all had a good laugh at that.
LBB> Some of the imagery really stands out, like the balloon arena, the kid balancing on the candles, and the balloons popping on the ceiling. How did these sequences come to life, and were any especially tricky to get right?
Jacob> The girl balancing on the candles was a late addition by us and a personal favourite of mine. We felt like it would be nice to have one scenario that was a little more meditative to help balance out the super kinetic shots.
The larger visual spectacles like the ring and the balloons popping on the ceiling were Clément’s ideas. He flagged early on that if all we did was athletic metaphors, the spot might be a little frenetic as well as lack emotion. In his treatment, he suggested adding more real-life moments of kids and their parents as well as this surrealist layer – not athletic metaphors per se, but visual metaphors for the children’s emotions. I think both additions really help with the pace of the spot and tell a richer story.
Brendan> We were trying forever to get a shot of the little boy pushing over the six and flexing in triumph, but he was scared of it dropping, so as soon as he pushed it over he’d run away. Then, he started to get cranky, so Clément let him sit in the director’s chair and boss some people around for a few minutes, which immediately put him back in a good mood! We then filmed some shots that were only him holding up his arms in triumph (without pushing over the six first), which ended up being one of our favourites.
LBB> What was the post process like? How did you bring everything together, from visuals to sound to effects?
Andrew> We had a tonne of great footage, and Neil Smith from Work Editorial was hugely helpful in choosing the best takes and putting together a beautiful edit.
In terms of VFX, initially, The Mill agreed to be our VFX partner pro bono, but it was actually during our first day on set that the news broke that Technicolor Group – and by extension The Mill – was going out of business. By the time the shoot wrapped, the folks at ARC Creative (which was formed by a group of artists from The Mill), got in touch and let us know they had every intention of seeing the job through. This was one of their first jobs, and I have to say, their work is phenomenal.
Brendan> In classic ECD fashion, Andrew immediately pushed us on the music, even as early as the script phase. ‘What’s the music going to be? Every SickKids spot has great music!’. However, what I realised was that if this whole idea is about how they’re fighting for every year, it would be neat to take the “Are you one? Are you two?”, part of ‘Happy Birthday’ and turn it into an anthem. Up until that point, we all sort of thought musically we’d be going in a ‘Creed 2’, orchestral hip-hop sort of direction, but I tossed it out as a suggestion and I could see both Jacob and Andrew’s eyes light up, and that was that.
From there, we engaged Soundtree, and because this happened very early on, we actually had a rough demo of the music prior to the shoot, which we could then match the kids’ performance to on set.
LBB> Do you have any lessons learned from the making of this new campaign?
Roy> When a director says one more take, they never mean it.
Shelagh> I think we learned that ‘SickKids VS’ is an even bigger platform than we already thought it was, with countless areas still to explore.
Creating a follow-up to ‘Undeniable’ was always going to be a challenge. The 150th birthday campaign had to feel fresh and exciting, and as agencies and marketers, sometimes we take that to mean we have to abandon ship and come up with something entirely new. But when you have a great idea, it’s creative commitment that matters. Investing in long-term, brand-building ideas is how never-finished platforms become even more powerful and more effective over time.
That, and that none of us will ever take a birthday for granted again.
LBB> Seeing as 150 is a big anniversary, is there anything you’d like to say for the occasion? What has the journey here meant to you, and what comes next?
Sandra> As happy as we are with this campaign, it’s not really our style to rest on our laurels for too long. I think what this work shows is yes, it’s been 150 years, but in many ways, we’re just getting started. At the end of the day, kids and families count on SickKids, and so the hospital needs attention and support. I mean, imagine what might be possible for children’s health in the next 150 years?
Roy> To echo Sandra, this campaign really sets the tone for what’s to come. We’re fighting to be the best in child and family-centred care, we’re fighting for advancements, and we’re fighting for a new generation of expertise so that we can fight for every child and every birthday for another 150 years.
LBB> Finally, is there an element of this campaign you’re especially proud of?
Roy> I’m really proud of the relationship we built with FCB through the project. This kind of work is a testament to the importance of trust between an agency and client. A client’s job is to set the conditions for creativity to thrive, and to allow the incredibly talented production folks to use their craft. We get out of their way and let them do what they do best: tell stories that move people to action.
Brendan> I'm proud of our cast. When I tell people these were all real patients, sometimes they don’t believe me because they were all just so great on camera. They’re all fun, easygoing kids, but I think when we yelled ‘action’, they tapped into what they’ve been through, which really comes across on screen.
Sandra> We’re so proud of the kids; they’re all so strong. The wonderful thing about these shoots is that everyone involved in the production is so respectful and deferential in ensuring the kids are 100% comfortable at all times, saying, “Are you sure it’s OK that they get wet?”, or “Are you sure it’s OK for them to crawl down this hallway?”, to which the parents will say something like, “They’ve had four open-heart surgeries, I think they can handle a little lukewarm water”. What you see on camera is the truth. We’re not just portraying these kids as tough. These kids are truly tough.
