The 'Don’t die waiting' vaccine campaign from the industry's best

Chris Pash
By Chris Pash | 24 September 2021
 

The current vaccination campaigns are, according to some, weak.

They miss the killer blow. 

A trio of the industry's most experienced and decorated -- Ron Mather, Penny Davy-Whyte and Mark Sareff -- have created a hard-hitting pro-vaccination campaign to encourage people waiting for Pfizer to get AZ.

A series of five print ads and short radio commercials aim to grab those who are waiting -- some for a perceived better vaccine, some for more evidence -- and get them to get vaccinated now.

For some, waiting may - unwittingly - prove suicidal.

Mark Sareff says the three ads follow Biblical precept: "A person who saves one life, is as if they’ve saved the world." 

Mark and Ron have partnered before, at The Campaign Palace, once Australia’s Agency of the Decade. Ron is one of Advertising’s handful of Living Legends. Mark is a Multi-award-winning strategist. Penny runs her own media agency, and has made it her mission to get these life-saving messages seen.

dont wait 2

Their research showed:

1. Believing you might die from AZ is highly irrational/emotional. And cannot be beaten with rational ads. So this campaign is highly emotive.

2. It aims to demolish three feelings:  you’re safer waiting for Pfizer; the fluffy language of ‘ventilating’ belies the horror of life support; and some still dismiss COVID as a ‘bad ‘flu’.

The new ads aim to confront these mistaken beliefs, to shock those sitting on the fence into acting.

Ron said: "I accept some out there will hate it. But saving one single life will more than compensate."

The trio banded together, pro-bono, created the campaign and sought amplification.

Initially, the ads will be appearing in doctor surgeries with some radio placement. 

dont wait - again

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