The much maligned holiday fruitcake, frequently served but rarely enjoyed, has finally served a useful purpose—raising funds to feed hungry people.
A group of creative minds at MedThink Communications designed a spoof on pharmaceutical drug ads, substituting “holiday fruitcake” in place of an actual drug name to add humor to their annual holiday card and accompanying video (<a href="http://(www.medthink.com)/fruitcake.html”>(www.medthink.com)/fruitcake.html).
For each time a viewer clicked on the fruitcake video, MedThink donated several dollars to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. This month, MedThink wrote a check to the Food Bank for $2,000.
“We wanted to have a little fun with our industry, poke fun at what we do, while helping people at the same time,” said medical writer Jef Walter, Ph.D., who initiated the idea to parody drug ads during a company brainstorming session.
“This holiday season, ask your doctor if FRUITCAKE® is right for you,” the card reads, along with “frutcacine disgustate” as the generic name of the drug.
The card pictures a smiling, middle-aged couple embracing one another on the beach, a parody of traditional drug ads that depict their product as the necessary ingredient to vitality and good health. Similarly, the video features active individuals skating, holiday decorating and dancing.
Amid the dancing and merrymaking, the narrator delivers the requisite dire warnings about side effects and adverse events, noting that “fruitcake is not for regifting, except with people you don’t really like.”
The creative process began as a brainstorming session with the Ph.D. science writers, copy writers, graphic designers and other MedThink creative staff. The initial idea to parody holiday lore quickly evolved into the spoof on once-a-year fruitcake, “now with 50 percent more pickled figs and holiday wishes from MedThink.”
“The holiday card and video provide a snapshot of the kind of work we do for our clients every day,” said Walt Clarke, partner at MedThink. “We fuse scientific and creative expertise to generate really novel and compelling ideas for our pharmaceutical clients.
“It’s truly a collaborative effort, and it’s rewarding to be able to enjoy what we do and make a contribution to our community at the same time.”
About MedThink Communications
MedThink Communications is an award-winning, full-service agency whose medical communications strategies capture the essence of your brand and transform it into compelling messages that inspire your target audiences. Our innovative approach to advertising, medical communications, public relations, media planning and placement, sales training and marketing consulting serves as the perfect complement to strengthen our health care partners’ competitive edge. ((www.medthink.com))
