Biogen: Friedreich's Back
Biogen tasked 21GRAMS New York with driving awareness and screenings for Skyclarys, the first treatment for Friedreich’s Ataxia. Facing a small, often misdiagnosed patient population, the brand needed to overcome the somber stigma of rare disease advertising. The goal was to engage symptomatic individuals and their families through social media, encouraging them to seek genetic testing without the typical fear associated with the diagnosis.
Creative Idea
Resurrected a 19th-century neurologist for a dark-comedy mockumentary series about his own disease.
Biogen resurrected the 19th-century neurologist Nikolaus Friedreich as a "zombie-lite" intern in a mockumentary social series, using dark humor and self-deprecation to demystify a rare disease and drive record-breaking genetic screenings among Gen Z and Millennial audiences.
Resurrecting a Dead Neurologist for Gen Z
The Penny Drop Moment
The campaign's pivot to dark comedy was sparked by a single insight from Fiona Cauley, a stand-up comedian living with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA). Her observation - "I laugh because I’ve cried enough" - served as the internal "penny drop" for Sundip Raval, VP at Biogen. This led 21GRAMS to abandon the "somber" tropes of rare disease marketing in favor of a mockumentary format. To navigate the legal complexities of depicting illness, the team resurrected the real Nikolaus Friedreich (who died in 1882) as a "zombie-lite" intern, allowing the brand to use humor without making light of the patients themselves.
Efficiency on a Global Scale
Despite its high production value, the 9-part series was captured with extreme efficiency, filming across multiple locations in just three days. Director Sarah Kambe Holland utilized her indie filmmaking background to maintain a fast-paced, social-first aesthetic. The strategy paid off with massive scale: the campaign reached 10 million views on Meta and TikTok, a reach roughly 600 times the size of the entire U.S. FA patient population.
Humor as a Clinical KPI
The industry impact was immediate, as Biogen became the only pharma brand on the Cannes Lions main stage in 2025. Beyond awareness, the series drove 5,000 conversions to the product website and accounted for 12% of overall screenings and 10% of total global enrollments for Skyclarys. Christopher Charles, ECD at 21GRAMS, championed the approach by arguing that humor acts as "brain fertilizer," significantly increasing message retention in a category usually defined by fear.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Biogen possessed Skyclarys, the first FDA-approved FA treatment, and a willingness to embrace unconventional, patient-led dark humor.
Category
Rare disease marketing typically relies on somber testimonials and clinical jargon that often alienate or overwhelm potential patients.
Customer
Patients with rare diseases often use humor as a survival mechanism and crave empowerment over the industry's standard pity.
Culture
The rise of mockumentary-style social content provided a perfect vessel for a self-deprecating, resurrected historical character.
Company
Biogen possessed Skyclarys, the first FDA-approved FA treatment, and a willingness to embrace unconventional, patient-led dark humor.
Category
Rare disease marketing typically relies on somber testimonials and clinical jargon that often alienate or overwhelm potential patients.
Strategy:
Use dark comedy and a resurrected historical figure to replace pharmaceutical pity with entertaining, patient-centric empowerment.
Customer
Patients with rare diseases often use humor as a survival mechanism and crave empowerment over the industry's standard pity.
Culture
The rise of mockumentary-style social content provided a perfect vessel for a self-deprecating, resurrected historical character.
Strategy:
Use dark comedy and a resurrected historical figure to replace pharmaceutical pity with entertaining, patient-centric empowerment.
Results
The campaign achieved 9 million organic views across TikTok and Instagram. It successfully drove over 5,000 people to the Skyclarys website. The agency, 21Grams, was ranked the number 2 healthcare agency globally at Cannes Lions, and its parent company, Real Chemistry, became the number 2 healthcare network worldwide. The campaign won a Gold Cannes Lion, the first for a branded pharma piece in years.
9M
organic views
5,000+
website visits
Gold
Cannes Lion award
Strategy Technique
Break a Category Convention
Biogen rejected the pity-filled tropes of rare disease advertising in favor of dark comedy. By treating patients as people who want to be entertained, they bypassed clinical coldness and built genuine engagement.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Make a Parody
The campaign uses a mockumentary format to parody corporate internships and historical biopics. This unexpected humor breaks the somber tone of rare disease marketing, making a terrifying diagnosis approachable and shareable.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign excels by blending high-concept character acting with a lo-fi social media aesthetic that feels authentic to TikTok and Instagram.
The comedic portrayal of Nikolaus Friedreich as a fish-out-of-water intern provides the essential levity and charm.
The zombie-lite 19th-century costume and makeup perfectly contrast with the sterile, modern Biogen office environment.
The script masterfully balances dark humor with accurate medical information about FA and Skyclarys.
Using a 9-part social mini-series on TikTok and Instagram met the target audience in their native digital habitats.
The magic lies in the contrast between the 19th-century character's absurdity and the very real, modern medical breakthrough.
