- Background
- Objectives
- Campaign
- Results
TV teasers, TV ads, radio, print, online & interactive
In 1961, a group of medical professionals, concerned about the increasing death rate from cardiovascular disease, founded the British Heart Foundation with the aim of raising money to help fund extra research into the causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heart and circulatory disease.
More than 400 BHF Heart Nurses care for patients across the UK and the British Heart Foundation invests over £137 a minute on research to keep the nation’s hearts healthy.
"We’re bringing heart attacks to life in living rooms across the UK, because understanding how one could feel could mean the difference between life and death."
Betty McBride, Director of Policy and Communications at the British Heart Foundation
The brand objective for the ITV campaign was to reduce the number of fatal heart attacks, while the communications challenge was to educate people about the signs of a heart attack. The campaign intended to deliver the drama and effectiveness of ‘Watch Your Own Heart Attack’ by positioning it as event television, with a full total value campaign including a dedicated website.
The final two-minute ad was transmitted on Sunday 10th August 2008 at 9.17pm on ITV1, during Midsomer Murders.
"When we were doing a research group for the pitch, someone said, ‘What you really need to do is give everyone in Britain a heart attack.’ We thought ‘Oh yeah, how obvious.’ So we did."
Jon Williams, Chief Creative Officer, Grey London
The total value transmedia campaign consisted of:
- 10" teasers on ITV channels which ran from Monday 28th July to Sunday 10th August
- Full two-minute ad aired on Sunday 10th August 2008 at 9.17pm, conceived and created by Grey London
- 24-hour access to the full ad, available via ITV’s red button interactive menu for a full week after initial transmission
- A dedicated website at www.2minutes.org.uk, allowing people to request a mobile or email reminder, link to the British Heart Foundation and previews of 10" teasers
- Out of home print ads used to announce the ‘most important two minutes of TV you’ll ever see!’ on cross-track 48 sheets and washroom panels
- Print ads and publications in national press weekend supplements and TV listing magazines
- Online
- ITV’s 24/7 service
- Radio
- PR
"This is a fantastic example of how ITV works closely with its advertisers, as well as their agencies, to develop exciting and innovative initiatives which really stand out. This is also a direct result of ITV’s continued investment and commitment to its strategic planning resource."
Julian Smith, Planning Account Director, ITV
- The two-minute event was watched by more than six million people, attracting 13.1% of all UK adults
- 2minutes.org.uk has since attracted more than 350,000 unique visits, whilst the film has been viewed over 61,000 times on YouTube
- Core message take-out among people who viewed the event was outstanding, with a 30% increase in knowledge that 'every heart attack is different, there are a wide variety of symptoms' versus those who had not seen the event
- Awareness of specific, lesser known symptoms also increased among members of the target audience (45+, C1C2D) who watched the event
- Among those viewing the event there was a 20% increase in the number of consumers who wanted to find out more about heart attacks, as well as a 24% increase in target audience members concerned about heart attacks as a health issue
(Source: Hall and Partners)