The greatest treasure: BHF and Saatchi & Saatchi take us inside the heart to discover its power, preciousness and vulnerability

19th May 2023, London - The British Heart Foundation (BHF) and creative partners Saatchi & Saatchi have today unveiled a new TV-led integrated campaign, The greatest treasure.

As the second iteration of This is Science - the brand platform launched to position the charity as a crucial frontline agent in the battle to outsmart heart disease - the work strives to help everyone rediscover the wonder, preciousness and vulnerability of their own heart. By taking its hero inside her own heart, the creative uses a new visual world to show it in a different way: both as a scientifically complex space, and a powerful emotional hard drive for life’s most important moments.

Running across TV, VOD, social and below the line, the creative leads with a film that shows a woman taking a journey inside her own heart. The film - voiced by Cillian Murphy, who also narrated the charity’s This is Science spot in January 2022 - begins with its hero, Libi, waking up inside her heart; a world beautifully reimagined as an electric, textural landscape.

Important ‘heartfelt’ milestones from her life replay in front of her: we see her heart race when she has her first kiss, the physical pain of grief and later, the moment she felt her unborn baby kick for the first time. The memories serve as a powerful reminder of the precious role the heart has in our lives, and it’s not until these memories stop, and the world fades away, that we realise her heart isn’t working as it should.

In a moving conclusion, we see how BHF funded research and technology proves to be the emotional and hopeful clue that Libi and her heart are beginning to heal. Back in the real world, we see her wake up post-procedure with her teenage son by her side, who assures her she will be okay. The BHF will be asking for donations from the public to support their lifesaving research.

To develop the world of the heart, Saatchi & Saatchi’s creative team took advice from BHF medical experts and heart scientist Professor Pablo Lamata. The agency also worked closely with Machine Molle to ensure the CGI-led vision was rooted in the real workings of the heart, with the misfiring electricity representative of an arrhythmic heart condition. The ad’s bespoke score, composed by James William Blades, is driven by a heartbeat, and uses an irregular beat to evoke both arrhythmia, and a subtle feeling of unease - which becomes regular as the film concludes.

In addition to the TV spot, the integrated campaign will see the BHF’s unique and visual world of the heart run across a range of executions, including digital and social.

Claire Sadler, Chief Marketing and Fundraising Officer at the BHF, says:

“It was exciting to collaborate with Saatchi & Saatchi on such an ambitious and creative project as they support us in helping people reconnect with the preciousness of their hearts and our vital work.”

“Central to our hero’s journey is the theme of discovery, which runs through the campaign - echoing the crucial work of our scientists. From discovering undetected heart conditions to finding new ways to understand the heart more deeply, the work highlights how BHF funded research results in breakthroughs that can save and transform people’s lives.”

Franki Goodwin, CCO, Saatchi & Saatchi says, “For this year's brand campaign we wanted to connect people to the power and fragility of their own hearts. By creating a parallel between the personal discovery of the myriad ways our hearts serve us throughout our lives, and the vital research the BHF do that can then save those that go wrong, we hope we’ve shown through this campaign that our greatest treasure is truly within our chest, and there’s more to discover through donations.”

For more information about the campaign, visit: www.bhf.org.uk/this-is-science.

Campaign credits

CAMPAIGN TITLE: The greatest treasure CLIENT: British Heart Foundation ADVERTISING AGENCY: Saatchi & Saatchi CCO: Franki Goodwin

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Paddy Fraser CREATIVE LEAD: Mia Silverman
PLANNING DIRECTOR: James Mitchell
HEAD OF STRATEGY: Sam Wise

MANAGING PARTNER: Humphrey Taylor
BUSINESS LEAD: Paul McHugh
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Zara Hutchins
AGENCY PRODUCER: Stephanie Evans
EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Sam Robinson MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: PHD

MEDIA PLANNER: Laura Farmer
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Somesuch
DIRECTOR: Vincent Haycock
PROD CO PRODUCER: Tash Tan & Elly Camisa EDITOR: Amanda James at Final Cut POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Machine Molle POST-PRODUCTION PRODUCER: Raminta Poskute SOUND ENGINEER: Mark Hills at Factory

ENDS

For more information, please contact: Lucy Burton
PR Director lucy.burton@saatchi.co.uk

About the British Heart Foundation

It is only with donations from the public that the BHF can keep its life saving research going. Help us turn science fiction into reality. With donations from the public, the BHF funds ground-breaking research that will get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases. A world where broken hearts are mended, where millions more people survive a heart attack, where the number of people dying from or disabled by a stroke is slashed in half. A world where people affected by heart and circulatory diseases get the support they need. And a world of cures and treatments we can’t even imagine today. Find out more at www.bhf.org.uk

About Saatchi & Saatchi

Saatchi & Saatchi have a simple ambition to create the most influential creative ideas from modern Britain, a mission recognised by its inclusion in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies List 2023.

This spirit is brought to bear on transformative work for clients including EE, BT, Direct Line, Subway, Britvic, Pilgrims and Siemens, and in a series of standout new business wins for 2023 including The John Lewis Partnership, (incorporating John Lewis, Waitrose and John Lewis Financial Services) and OVO. The company also launched Upriser in late 2022, a free to access creative schools platform available to any secondary school in the UK.

The Saatchi & Saatchi network unites 114 offices in 67 countries and 6,500 people. Saatchi & Saatchi is part of the Publicis Groupe.
www.saatchi.co.uk