Creative agency Arnold has been hired by Forward Health, an entirely new healthcare system empowering doctors with technology and data to monitor and guide long-term health. Arnold has been working with Forward Health to evolve its strategic brand positioning, and is launching its first national consumer-facing brand awareness campaign–”Healthcare is Backwards.”
The initial campaign includes two spots, including this one which takes us into a doctor’s waiting room as a patient has an offbeat nonsensical experience signing in for an appointment. The Perlorian Brothers of MJZ directed both TV/online films in which the action unfolds a bit backwards, literally.
“To achieve the forward-moving/backwards effect, some of actors had to perform entire sequences in reverse,” noted Arnold chief creative officer Sean McBride. “We then reversed those scenes, so they appear to be happening forwards, but with these wonderfully askew mannerisms and totally indecipherable dialogue. As an aside, I found it totally impossible to predict what would and wouldn’t work in reverse, so there was lots of trial and error. I can now tell you that hospital PA announcements sound almost the same backwards and forwards, while backwards laughter looks and sounds like demonic possession.”
Jonathan Beamer, head of marketing, Forward Health, added, “In creating the ‘Healthcare is Backwards’ brand positioning, Arnold did a terrific job at crystallizing our brand benefit and providing us with a uniquely ownable platform. This new campaign captures the feelings of frustration and bewilderment that unfortunately many people experience when they visit a doctor’s office, and it does so in a humorous, yet empathetic way.”
Beginning this month, the films will be viewable across Facebook, YouTube and streaming TV, and on linear TV in Los Angeles. Supporting ads will run across podcasts and digital banners nationally, and OOH in the L.A. market. The campaign will roll out across more markets later in the year as the brand opens new locations.
CreditsClient Forward Health Agency Arnold Sean McBride, chief creative officer; Nate Donabed, Josh Kahn, SVPs, creative directors; Thomas Hair, creative director; Rebekah Brinkerhoff, copywriter; Paul Shannon, SVP, executive producer; Catherine Sheehan, EVP, brand strategy director. Production MJZ The Perlorian Brothers, directors; Maya Bankovic, DP; Merrie Watson, line producer; Eriks Krumins, exec producer. Editorial Cosmo Street Aaron Langley, editor; Anne Lai, head of production. Postproduction Switchfx Cara Flynn. Audio Post Mark Healey, sound engineer.
Top Spot of the Week: Nike, W+K Portland, Megaforce Take Us On A “Sunshine” Run
“Winning isn’t Comfortable” is the second chapter of Nike’s “Winning isn’t for Everyone,” extended through the lens of running. It is based on true insights and the realities that runner experience when they lace up their shoes.
It adds the perspective of how hard it can be to just get out the door and go for a run. The idea that if you don’t hate running a little, you don’t love running enough. It celebrates the need and opportunity to push outside a person’s comfort zone to discover what they can accomplish, emphasizing that true victory often requires pushing through uncomfortable moments.
Each film of the series builds on the tension that every runner faces--pushing through the morning dread, the elements outside, the pain of hitting a wall, or even walking down the stairs after a run or race--juxtaposed with the feeling of elation only runners know as they push themselves beyond what they thought possible.
The irreverence of the films--directed by Megaforce via production company Iconoclast for Wieden+Kennedy Portland--is in pairing visuals showing the mundanity of everyday struggles with music that brings to life a contradictory tension. This film, the first to be released, is titled “Sunshine” and shows the inclement weather and obstacles that runners encounter to the tune of “You Are My Sunshine.”
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