That’s a wrap – Cannes Lions Health Sinks Into the Sunset

 

That’s a wrap — Cannes Lions Health Sinks Into the Sunset

 

By Rich Levy, Chief Creative Officer, Klick Health

 

After three days in the south of France, one thing has become clear. While healthcare advertising has come a long way, it still has an even longer way to go.

While we would like to believe that the work is among the best in the industry, after sitting through multiple award shows at the Lions Festival of Creativity, I can safely say our best work is not nearly as good as the best work in the rest of the industry.

While there were several campaigns that I liked in Lions Health (see my earlier posts), nothing moved me as much as campaigns from Nike, Volkswagen, The New York Times, Burger King, The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, and The National Centre for Domestic Violence.  These campaigns stopped me in my tracks.  They forced me to watch.  Several made me cry.  Yes, I was crying during the awards show.

Not because I was sad, but because the work made me proud to work in this industry.  And I was jealous. I want the work we all do in healthcare (myself included) to stop me just as much.  And it can, it should, and I believe we can get there.

The best campaigns all have the same core components: incredible storytelling; wonderful craft; and a strong human insight that moves you to think, feel, and do something.  So now, let’s superimpose what we do in healthcare.  We work on products that literally change people’s lives. Those are stories we should be telling. Stories we should be producing with craft that is industry-breaking. And those are stories that are always infused with human emotion and truth.

We can do it.  It’s not good enough to be really, really good.

Good is just the beginning.  But I believe that great is still in our future.