SickKids Foundation Stops Illness Before it Strikes in Spot from Director Henry Scholfield
On the heels of completing the largest fundraising campaign in Canadian healthcare history, raising $1.7 billion from over 1.3 million unique donors to build a new hospital, SickKids is shifting its fundraising attention to the next chapter - a new approach to care called Precision Child Health (PCH). It’s also evolving the internationally renowned and award-winning SickKids VS brand platform with a refreshed visual identity and approach to reflect this new priority.
PCH is a revolution in paediatric care, pushing past the limits of one-size-fits-all medicine to focus more deeply on what makes each patient who they are, looking at everything from their genetic code to their postal code. It then harnesses cutting-edge science, technology, and data analysis for every child in order to give them the best odds of regaining their health. With PCH, SickKids will be able to diagnose faster, treat smarter, and predict better than ever before, even stopping illness before it strikes.
“PCH is a game-changer for SickKids. It’s not just one program or initiative - it’s a seismic cultural shift in how SickKids cares for its patients,” says Kate Torrance, vice president, head of brand at SickKids Foundation. “Despite all our incredible progress in healthcare, to the parents of a sick child, the future is scary. While SickKids has been winning the battle against childhood illness, with PCH, we have a new strategy that’s creating a brighter future - not just for every child we treat today, but for our community and healthcare system in the decades to come. For our launch, we knew we needed to leverage SickKids VS’s equity as a performance brand to evolve our tone, separate ourselves from the category, and focus on individual patient stories that have the power to move people to support us.”
Created in partnership with Cossette, the Heal the Future campaign aims to introduce PCH to the public with a focus on the simple, tangible benefits for patients and families, rather than complicated scientific explanations or medical jargon. The roll-out includes high-impact OOH, including dominations at Yonge-Dundas, Union Station, a TTC subway train, and Billy Bishop Airport. The campaign is anchored by a film rooted in truth and tragedy, but also hope, and was inspired by a SickKids patient named Nathan who had a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. While SickKids knew about his genetic condition, it did not, at the time, have the tools or technology to understand that he was at high risk for sudden cardiac death. Tragically, Nathan passed away at the age of 10 in the schoolyard during recess. The film shows us how with PCH, the story can have a different ending, and dramatises PCH’s ability to search the past, analyse the present, and heal the future for a child. Set to Billie Eilish’s 'Everything I Wanted,' it demonstrates how an earlier diagnosis can save a life.
“Heal the Future is an evolution for the SickKids VS brand and leans into a visual energy and sense of optimism that comes with a hopeful future,” says Anthony Atkinson, executive creative director at Cossette. “It’s the first time we’ve told the story of a child and what it means to live a fulfilling life when an early diagnosis is possible. There’s a quote at SickKids that inspired much of this work: ‘Don’t just heal the child, heal the adult they will become.’ This had us fighting for children’s futures when traditionally, we’ve been focusing on our fight in the present.”
The Heal the Future campaign was an ambitious undertaking, and for the first time, a global team was assembled. Since the SickKids brand has had an impact not just here in Canada, but all over the world, talent from outside the country were given the opportunity to contribute to such a monumental moment in SickKids history. Led by Henry Scholfield and Spy Films, the film employs AI and new VFX technology to create the world of PCH, with visuals developed by Studio Feather and Wicked Pixels. Special attention was paid to sound design, which was overseen by New York’s Wave Studios, who collaborated with Toronto’s Vapour Music on the music. The photography was done by Norman Wong. A SickKids project is always a labour of love, and without the tireless effort from all the talent locally and abroad, the work would not be possible.
On September 21st, SickKids, with the support of Citizen Relations, marked the arrival of PCH with a larger-than-life crystal ball - a symbol of the promise to heal the future. The crystal ball also honours SickKids patient Addison (Addy) Hill. Addy arrived at SickKids in 2021 with an infectious smile, a wicked sense of humour, and a rare form of cancer that, although aggressive, failed to dim her spirit. During a visit with SickKids oncologist Dr. Malkin, Addy asked a very frank question: Would she live or would she die? Dr. Malkin responded that he didn’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, but that the team at SickKids would do everything possible to save her life. Not long after their first meeting, Addy gave Dr. Malkin a crystal ball. While Addy is no longer with us today, her wish for answers has inspired a new era of individualised care at SickKids.
PCH is a transformative leap in children’s healthcare - one that will be defined by SickKids in the months, years and decades to come. SickKids has always believed that healthier children make a better world. PCH is the way to get there - it’s the future being created today. Learn more at healthefuture.ca.
