Sick Kids VS Undeniable

The «Sick Kids VS Undeniable» campaign, created by Cossette presents the patients of Toronto’s Sick Kids hospital as ultimate fighters in the most brilliant hospital ad. The implementation included prints, outdoor, cinema ads, digital, TVC and social media.

Background and context

During 2014–2015 there was another campaign with videos based on real stories of real patients. On 2016 Cossette created the «Sick Kids VS Undeniable» campaign to raise awareness concerning fundthefight.ca. The hospital relays on private donations to support their work and research. The main reason to believe was that science and technology help Sick Kids take on and win greater challenges and cure world’s most complex illnesses. Sick Kids is a conqueror of child health challenges.

The challenge

The main challenge of this campaign was to overcome the barriers of a traditional ad about childhood sickness and steer away from emotional stories of the past campaigns. They wanted to shift from a charity brand to performance brand and therefore Sick Kids’ biggest and most forceful campaign.

The goal

The main goal of the «Sick Kids VS Undeniable» campaign was to make people not to sit on the sidelines but fight, to find new donors and raise money, but also awareness. They aimed to inspire and provide hope. The target group was Canadian men and women, 25–50 years old, but mainly a younger demographic, based on the fact that today, young Canadians are more educated and aware of what’s going on. Young and older parents don’t want their children to lose their childhood. So, they were moved and then motivated by children basically losing their childhood in the hospital.

The message

Cossette managed to stand for the idea of toughness over tears. Sick children and their families are fighters and through the campaign, they call people to action, inviting them to join the fight, by funding the fight. The vibe of the 2mins video is captivating, strong, bold, true, emotionally powerful, moving but empowering and optimistic at the same time. It reminds us of a rebellious music video or a creative direction of a sports ad.

Below, you can watch the entire video, shot mainly in the hospital and featuring actual patients, their families and Sick Kids’ staff.

• The Ogilvies: Katerina Tsigarida Stavroula Pollatou Xenia Ntavranoglou Ioanna Thanasi. Danai Lyratzi
• Lab Instructor: Lina Kiriakou