New Approach for Cancer Research UK Campaign

Cancer Research UK has launched a new campaign that aims to show the reality of day-to-day life for those affected by cancer in the UK. The campaign, entitled Right Now, highlights that cancer is happening now, and brings together the real stories of patients and their loved ones, researchers and medical staff, and includes moments of diagnosis, treatment and test results.

The campaign begins with a moving 60-second television advert [top] airing on December 24. Then, from December 26, the campaign will be seen across TV, outdoor [above], digital, radio, PR, social media and cinema.

Created by creative agency Anomaly and directed by Henry Singer, who himself has previously been diagnosed with cancer and was treated at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, the campaign is ground-breaking both in its content, by showing the true reality of cancer, and in its production process, as Anomaly worked with with documentary television production company The Garden.

Below, the ECD of Anomaly, Oli Beale, and the chief executive of The Garden, Nick Curwin, discuss the project, it's unusual approach and the eventual outcome.

You can also click here to get insight from Anthony Newman, Cancer Research UK’s director of brand, marketing and communications, who discusses the need for a different marketing approach from a client perspective. 

Can you explain what it was that Cancer Research approached you to help with?

OB: They wanted a brand response campaign - a campaign that tells the story of CRUK but gets the donations rolling in.

Did they have an idea of what they wanted to do or were you tackling the brief from the ground up?

OB: They knew they wanted a TV ad to run at Christmas and they knew there would be some outdoor and radio, but they were really clear that they wanted an idea that sat above all of that.

How and why did you decide on the approach you eventually took?

OB: CRUK had been talking about ending cancer one day in the future. We didn’t think that was inspiring people to donate immediately.

Our idea was show what is happening RIGHT NOW in cancer, and tell people what they can do to help RIGHT NOW.

It would have been madness to use actors and scripts to try and tell the story of ‘Cancer Right Now’. Our pitch was that we should use a production company like The Garden – the team behind [TV documentary series] 24 Hours In A&E – to bring it to life.

What were your thoughts when Anomaly first approached you about the CRUK project?

NC: I loved the brief, thought we’d do a good job and - although it would represent a departure for us - I badly wanted the gig. Here was an opportunity to do what we do best but also to do some tangible good and help raise money for an important cause that’s close to our hearts.

Was this the first time you’d been approached by an advertising agency to work on such a project?

NC: First time we’ve been approached by an ad agency at all.

How different, if at all, is working on a brief such as this, for a client such as this, compared to working for a car or FMCG client, for example?

OB: No different. Cancer Research UK had an objective and we created the best solution we could. It’s how Anomaly always work. We always have a business objective in mind and we tie our profits to it working.

How closely did you work with Anomaly with regards the content/people/angles you took with the films?

NC: Very. The brief was excellent and clear from the get-go. But we worked extremely closely and collaboratively with Anomaly from then on. We brought to the table our know-how and ideas whilst also respecting the fact that ads were new to us and Anomaly were the experts.

What were the differences – if any – on working on a documentary series for broadcast TV, and working on this campaign for CRUK?

NC: Some things were the same, some were different. Finalising access to institutions and reaching agreements with them, building up strong relationships quickly with medical personnel, patients and their families, developing a stylistic approach – these were all very like what we’d do anyway.  

The main difference was that we had to learn fast how to make content pack a punch in 30- or 60-seconds instead of an hour without abandoning our own heritage in programme-making.

It sounds very cynical to say, but people are often very jaded when it comes to charity advertising and they seem to know the usual tropes and clichés, therefore inuring themselves somewhat from the desired effect; was that part of the thinking when you undertook this campaign?

OB: 24 Hours In A&E is a masterpiece in human storytelling. Reality TV is a huge part of popular culture. Who could have predicted Gogglebox 10 years ago?

People have used real people in advertising before but the industry is way behind in terms of quality and craft. You can’t simply stick a camera on somebody for a few days and hope to get something as authentic as an episode of One Born Every Minute or 24 Hours in Police Custody.

That’s what the British public know and love, so a crap imitation of it in advertising is never going to wash.

The campaign is/was scheduled to first air over Christmas, possibly even on Christmas Day; how aware of the effects of a campaign such as this do you need to be when attempting to garner as much engagement as possible?

OB: We’ve all decided not to air it on Christmas Day. It would have been too much. Imagine if we’d reminded a family about the fact one of them had cancer on a day when they’d been trying to forget it.

It’s a very different approach for a charity commercial, and follows the conventions of a TV show more than an advertising campaign; is this a true example of ‘content’ being used to fulfil a client’s brief?

OB: I’m not a fan of the words ‘content’ or TV as definitions of a genre. Content sounds like something designed to fill a media slot. TV is simply a media slot. At Anomaly we only ever use the word ‘Video’. We then use our coms-strategists to work out the best place to put the video.

Why do you think this approach has not been taken before?

NC: Perhaps because there’s quite a big cultural difference between the world of advertising and the world of TV production. We do things very differently! Having said that, one of the most fascinating and enjoyable things about this project was that very cultural difference.  

And I think what made it all work like a dream was that Anomaly and CRUK were incredibly trusting that, even though the way The Garden went about things was unlike anything they were used to, we would deliver.  

I’m convinced that that trust was integral to the success of this campaign and admire them all for such a leap of faith.  I hope they feel that their bravery was rewarded.

Using The Garden, a non-advertising production company, was a bold decision, but why was it the right decision?

OB: The only people that know how to make something like 24 Hours in A&E are the creators and producers of 24 Hours in A&E. Nobody else could have done it.

How exactly did the production process work – how involved were you, how were the subjects of the film found and how often did you see the content being filmed?

OB: We had a really thorough pre-production process but then we handed the whole thing over to The Garden. They shot for four weeks and we didn’t see a thing. The first time we saw the videos, they were basically the same as the ones you’re looking at now.

How much trust – the client in you, you in The Garden – was needed for this campaign, and how difficult was that process for CR and Anomaly?

OB: You’ve picked exactly the right word: Trust. The whole process was held together entirely by trust. We trusted The Garden to bring it all to life. The patients, researchers, staff and hospitals trusted The Garden to treat their stories sensitively. Cancer Research UK trusted all of us way more than they had any reason to!

How will the campaign roll out, and how long will it last?

OB: There’s a lot of stuff coming out this year. I think there are about 15 different TV adverts. There are dozens of radio adverts. A whole load of social videos. At last count there were 480 different outdoor posters. All featuring real people.

What do you hope this campaign will achieve and do you think more clients, charity or otherwise, will take this approach in the future?

OB: Cancer is happening right now. We need your help right now. If people see our campaign and think that their £2 might actually do something then I will be a happy man.