Every week, MM+M brings you an inside look at a medical marketing campaign from the brand leaders and advertising executives behind the work.

Below are highlights from MM+M’s Campaign Confidential this year.

1.Unpacking Inequality You Can’t Ignore, which won a Gold Pharma Lion at Cannes

If you’re an avid follower of medical marketing news, the subject of this Campaign Confidential column should seem familiar.

The Inequality You Can’t Ignore campaign, created by The Chrysalis Initiative and Eversana Intouch, a 2023 MM+M Agency 100 honoree, took home a Gold Pharma Lion at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

The highly coveted industry honor comes after an ambitious conception and execution of a campaign targeting racial inequities in the healthcare system.

Check out the full article here.

2. Portraits of love: ViiV’s Mother to Son campaign promotes HIV Prevention

Oftentimes, the genesis of many creative campaigns can be traced back to brain-storming sessions in conference rooms. 

However, ViiV Healthcare’s latest initiative focused on the mother-and-son relationship among Black and Latinx gay, bisexual and queer men, has a more intimate origin story, according to P.J. Monton-Poole, senior manager of external affairs for North America at ViiV.

Inspired by her support and subsequent questions, Monton-Poole and ViiV decided to create a website rich in resources to facilitate these sorts of conversations. Additionally, the Mother to Son campaign places a series of portraits of mothers and sons, mostly biological but also chosen relationships, at the heart of the effort. 

Some of the subjects in the portraits are famous, including Ty Hunter, a celebrity stylist to Beyoncé and other stars, as well as Luna Luis-Ortiz, founder of the Latex Ball. Meanwhile, others embody the full diversity of the Black and Latinx gay, bisexual and queer communities. 

Check out the full article here.

3. T-Pain remixes, autotunes the Alka-Seltzer jingle for hangover relief effort

Alka-Seltzer has been a go-to solution for hangover relief since its launch during Prohibition. 

Still, the product has rarely been pitched to consumers with that angle in mind. Instead, its ability to quell the headaches and acid indigestion that accompany hangovers was passed via word-of-mouth along like an open secret. 

However, that all changed recently when Bayer launched its latest Alka-Seltzer hangover relief product with Grammy-winning rapper and producer T-Pain leading the campaign for the new formula. 

[embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tiyHDxM_Qk]

Check out the full article here.

4. Reproductive rights activists say Speak Up Man in America’s abortion debate

Shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, a Pew Research poll found that 62% of Americans disapproved of the decision, including 52% of men. 

However, looking at the coverage of abortion rights in the United States, it is easy to feel that the men who are given the most airtime and whose voices are loudest are, disproportionately, from the 28% who strongly approve of the high court’s action. 

Recognizing the disconnect between the polling data and the outsized media coverage from anti-abortion voices, healthcare marketing agency The Considered and culture strategy firm The Opt-In stepped up.

By working with three advocacy organizations — New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Men4Choice and ProChoice Majority — the two firms set out to amplify the voices of men who support abortion rights. 

The Speak Up Man initiative gives these allies a platform to express the impact that abortion had on their lives while also encouraging other straight men to become advocates for pregnant people. 

Check out the full article here.

5. Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest brings renewed focus to Safety Saints’ CPR campaign

When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed from cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football on January 2, millions of viewers were horrified, concerned and hoping for a full recovery for the player. 

Fortunately, Hamlin was discharged from the hospital one week later with no apparent neurological damage. The positive outcome is due almost entirely to the fact that medical assistance was available immediately. In Hamlin’s case, he received defibrillation, which raises the survival rate from cardiac arrest to 41%. 

Minutes count in these trying situations, with brain damage likely if a person is in cardiac arrest for 4 to 6 minutes without CPR. Despite the fact that it can truly save lives, less than 3% of Americans receive CPR training every year. 

Hamlin’s incident has provided a renewed emphasis on CPR, which is the focus of a campaign from Safety Saints and The BAM Connection that encourages people to be trained in CPR and other lifesaving skills. 

Check out the full article here.

6. Uncovering the truth about gout: Horizon’s striking mural in Seattle

At the intersection of art and medicine, you can find Horizon Therapeutics.

Actually, on a building near the intersection of First Avenue and Pike Street in Seattle is where you can find Horizon Therapeutics.

The Irish rare-disease biotech decided to go big for its latest educational campaign to raise awareness about gout — including its causes, symptoms and treatments. 

Through September 3, a 40-foot-tall mural became an unavoidable presence in downtown Seattle, not far from the famous Pike Place Market. The goal of the artwork was to make visible what is largely unseen about gout. 

Check out the full article here.

7. Mandy Moore leads Incyte’s Opzelura effort against eczema

So how did Mandy Moore get involved in an effort by Incyte Corporation to combat eczema?

Earlier this fall, Incyte launched its Moments of Clarity program, an initiative highlighting the stories of people living with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis (AD) and their search for relief from its symptoms. 

Incyte is the developer of Opzelura, a topical cream indicated for short-term and non-continuous chronic treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in patients 12 years or older.

Timed to coincide with National Eczema Awareness Month in October, the drugmaker targeted a large audience that have some form of eczema, which comprises an estimated 31.6 million Americans. 

While the Moments of Clarity program is focused on the stories of real-life people like you and me, the campaign enlisted some serious star power in the form of Moore — a singer, songwriter and star of the NBC drama, This Is Us. 

Check out the full article here.

For the full catalog of Campaign Confidential stories from 2023, click here.