Philips: Breathless Choir
Philips, known for consumer electronics, needed to establish credibility and emotional resonance in healthcare technology. They aimed to demonstrate how their innovations genuinely improved lives, targeting a broad audience to shift brand perception and boost portable oxygen product sales.
Creative Idea
Empowered breathless individuals to sing in a choir, showcasing technology's life-changing power.
Philips empowered individuals battling severe respiratory conditions to sing in a choir with the help of a choirmaster and their portable oxygen concentrators, powerfully demonstrating how their healthcare technology genuinely transforms lives and fosters emotional connection.
The Song That Gave Eighteen Strangers Their Voices Back
A Pivot Worth Two Billion Dollars
The campaign served as the cornerstone for Philips' transition from a consumer electronics legacy to a health technology powerhouse. The strategic shift was a commercial triumph, resulting in a $2 billion increase in brand value within a single year. Beyond the balance sheet, the project drove a 14% revenue lift for the portable oxygen category in Q4 2015 and a 15 point jump in Net Promoter Score. By focusing on human stories rather than technical specs, Philips reached 50% of the U.S. respiratory customer base and generated over 650 million earned media impressions.
Five Days at the Apollo
Director John X Carey - known for his work on Dove Real Beauty Sketches - brought 18 strangers with conditions like COPD and cystic fibrosis to New York City. The participants, including activist Claire Wineland and Evelin Alvarez-Flores, underwent five days of intensive vocal training with celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone. The production utilized the Philips SimplyGo Mini, a portable oxygen concentrator that provided the mobility necessary for a stage performance. In a surprise reveal captured on film, the choir was led into the legendary Apollo Theater for their finale.
Navigating the Regulatory Minefield
The project is a landmark case study in indirect marketing. By documenting the emotional journey of the choir rather than making direct clinical claims, Ogilvy & Mather London successfully promoted a prescription-grade medical device to a mass audience without violating strict healthcare advertising regulations. The choice of music was equally strategic; Sting granted rare permission to use "Every Breath You Take" specifically to support the campaign's lung health mission. The result was a 20% share rate on social media, an unprecedented level of engagement for healthcare content.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Philips possessed advanced portable oxygen concentrator technology and a credible brand reputation for improving lives through innovation.
Category
Healthcare technology advertising often relied on clinical data or abstract benefits, lacking emotional connection and tangible human impact.
Customer
Individuals with respiratory conditions, and their loved ones, yearned for hope and tangible ways to reclaim aspects of a full, active life.
Culture
A cultural appetite for inspiring human stories of overcoming adversity, particularly through the transformative power of music and community.
Company
Philips possessed advanced portable oxygen concentrator technology and a credible brand reputation for improving lives through innovation.
Category
Healthcare technology advertising often relied on clinical data or abstract benefits, lacking emotional connection and tangible human impact.
Strategy:
Leverage human stories of profound transformation to emotionally demonstrate the life-changing impact of advanced technology.
Customer
Individuals with respiratory conditions, and their loved ones, yearned for hope and tangible ways to reclaim aspects of a full, active life.
Culture
A cultural appetite for inspiring human stories of overcoming adversity, particularly through the transformative power of music and community.
Strategy:
Leverage human stories of profound transformation to emotionally demonstrate the life-changing impact of advanced technology.
Results
The campaign garnered 15 million views, with many viewers watching over 17 minutes of original content. It triggered hundreds of articles and tens of thousands of tweets and blog posts. The medical community embraced the story of the choir, with quotes like "Singing is good for the soul and the lungs" (The Lancet) and "Lung disease sufferers find their voice" (American Lung Association). Revenue for Philips' portable oxygen products rose 14% compared to the previous quarter, reaching an all-time high. The campaign transformed the lives of 18 people.
15M
views
650M
media impressions
14%
increase in Philips portable oxygen revenue
Strategy Technique
Dramatize the Solution
Philips dramatically showcased how its portable oxygen concentrator enabled people with severe respiratory issues to sing. This powerfully illustrated the life-changing impact of their healthcare technology.
Creative Technique
Tell a story: Against all odds
The campaign showcases individuals with severe breathing problems overcoming their physical limitations to sing. It powerfully demonstrates the human spirit's resilience and the product's role in achieving the seemingly impossible.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional due to its profound music, which orchestrates an authentic human story, powerfully amplified by the choir's musical performance and sensitively captured through cinematography.
The authentic and moving vocal performances of the choir, guided by Gareth Malone, coupled with the poignant choice of 'Every Breath You Take,' create the campaign's central emotional and transformative impact.
The visual execution sensitively documents the participants' personal journeys, struggles, and triumphs, capturing their raw emotions and the transformative power of the experience with authenticity.
The campaign's magic comes from the seamless integration of a brilliant enabling idea, the authentic human journey of the participants, and the transformative power of music, all captured with sensitive cinematography.
