2017 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

CHALLENGE: Antibiotic consumption has been on the rise around the world as well as around the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Self-medicating has given rise to superbugs that are rendering antibiotics ineffective. And we’re now facing a global antibiotics crisis due to overconsumption and self-prescription of antibiotics that has created mutated, antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can kill people. BRAND: To help people in the UAE take its first steps towards prevention against this crisis, Daman, a leading health insurance company in the UAE, wanted to raise awareness about the ills of antibiotics self-prescription and over-consumption, and help slow down antibiotic resistance. STRATEGY: Since antibiotics are still easily available over the counter in the UAE, people popped them like they’d pop candy; whenever they felt like it. So, we got people to think twice about popping pills like candy, by educating them, through entertaining content, about the damage they could cause to their health. IDEA: Don't 'treat' yourself to antibiotics. EXECUTION: Medicinal content is usually considered a serious topic and people don't make the effort to pay attention nor understand. So, we had to make the message SIMPLE and DISRUPTIVE. We likened popping antibiotics to popping candies. We created parodies of the packaging of famous confectionary brands by subverting their packaging and designing faux candy-like antibiotic packs, promoted as educational content across channels. M&Ms became Penicillin. Skittles became Ceftriaxone. Tic Tac became Oxacillin. Smarties became Moxifloxacin. The faux packaging was distributed through print, direct contact, digital and B-to-B channels. The educational content via the faux packaging was them scaled through on-ground activations in UAE malls to reach the masses; where we developed stands, that were parodied based on the candy stands seen in those very malls - just like we parodied the packs of the confectionary brands and placed the stands in strategic locations to attract attention. The idea's disruptive nature triggered curiosity and intrigue from all mall-goers. People were drawn to our stands only to be surprised, amused, startled and shocked. But they understood the adverse effects of popping pills like candy. RESULTS & EFFECTIVENESS: 1 - Website engaged 35% members. 2 - Claims/member decreased 47%. 3 - Cost/claim decreased from AED345 to AED330. 4 - Cost/member decreased 25%. 5- Cost to economy decreased $288 million. (Source: Daman Health and Medical Strategy reports)