Fondation CHU Sainte-Justine: The Orange
Fondation CHU Sainte-Justine tasked LG2 with launching their most ambitious fundraising campaign ever to raise $500 million for precision medicine. They needed to engage all of Quebec, moving beyond traditional clinical messaging to make an abstract medical revolution feel personal, urgent, and hopeful. The goal was to inspire a new generation of donors by showing how innovation directly transforms a child's chance to grow up.
Creative Idea
Visualized a child's tumor as a simple orange to make complex medicine feel human.
The campaign humanized the abstract concept of precision medicine by visualizing life-threatening illnesses through a child's innocent metaphors, turning a terrifying medical journey into a hopeful, cinematic fairytale that invited the public to fund a medical revolution.
Turning a Brain Tumor Into a Fairy Tale
The Power of a Three Minute Gamble
In an era of six - second skippable ads, LG2 and the Foundation took a massive risk by producing a three - minute flagship film. The strategy treated the commercial like a cinematic event, airing it in full during prime - time television, cinemas, and major sporting events. This unconventional approach paid off with a staggering 90% video completion rate, proving that audiences will engage with long - form content if the storytelling is sufficiently visceral. The campaign delivered a six - fold return on media investment and triggered double - digit increases in both donation intent and public perception.
Metaphors and Medical Reality
The central metaphor of "The Orange" was inspired by the real - life communication tactics used by hospital staff. Caregivers at CHU Sainte - Justine often use simple objects and parables to explain life - altering conditions to young patients. To maintain this authenticity, the production featured actual medical staff rather than actors. The film’s star, 11 - year - old Juliette, is a real patient who suffered 12,775 epileptic seizures before being cured through the precision medicine the campaign seeks to fund.
Hand Drawn Hope and Precision Medicine
To bridge the gap between cold clinical data and a child’s imagination, Rodeo FX and animation directors Ben & PH blended live - action footage with animations reminiscent of children’s drawings. This visual style allowed the team to explain complex procedures - like the "medical revolution" of precision medicine - through a lens of "fairy tale" naivety. The campaign also introduced a new cultural symbol for the hospital: a tiny raised fist wearing a hospital ID bracelet, representing a child’s victory over disease.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A world-class pediatric hospital pioneering precision medicine to treat previously incurable childhood diseases.
Category
Healthcare fundraising often relies on clinical facts or overt tragedy, which can lead to donor fatigue and emotional distancing.
Customer
Donors want to feel their contribution creates a tangible future for children, rather than just funding abstract research.
Culture
A growing public desire for hope and 'medical miracles' in an era where technology is rapidly evolving.
Company
A world-class pediatric hospital pioneering precision medicine to treat previously incurable childhood diseases.
Category
Healthcare fundraising often relies on clinical facts or overt tragedy, which can lead to donor fatigue and emotional distancing.
Strategy:
Translate complex clinical innovation into simple, child-led metaphors to bridge the gap between science and empathy.
Customer
Donors want to feel their contribution creates a tangible future for children, rather than just funding abstract research.
Culture
A growing public desire for hope and 'medical miracles' in an era where technology is rapidly evolving.
Strategy:
Translate complex clinical innovation into simple, child-led metaphors to bridge the gap between science and empathy.
Strategy Technique
Reframe the Problem
Instead of focusing on the clinical complexity of precision medicine, it reframed the medical challenge as a child's imaginative hurdle that donors could help overcome.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Fairytale
It uses a storybook narrative and animation to translate a child's perspective on illness, making the heavy subject of pediatric tumors accessible and emotionally resonant for a mass audience.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The ad's power lies in its delicate animation and the seamless transition to live-action, which grounds the emotional story in reality.
The hand-drawn style effectively conveys the child's perspective and makes a difficult subject approachable.
The original song 'Fragile' perfectly complements the emotional weight of the narrative.
The combination of the gentle animation and the poignant music creates a deeply moving experience that resonates with the audience.
