With its latest campaign, the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society (ACS) has gone where few nonprofit organizations have gone before: into the realm of paid advertising. The "He," "She," "You" and "Usted" ("You" in Spanish) spots are part of the ACS’s $12 million Hope.Progress.Answers. campaign via T.G. Madison, Atlanta.
The spots began on March 13 and run through May 8 on CBS during primetime (including the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather) and daytime programming. From March 13 to June 19, the spots can be seen during primetime and daytime hours on cable channels including A&E, CNN and CNBC. A Spanish-language television campaign airs May 1 to June 19 on Univision. The radio and print campaign runs through the end of August.
Greg Donaldson, national VP of corporate communications for the ACS, said that it is committed to paid advertising because "we have ambitious public health goals [to reduce the incidence and number of deaths caused by cancer] that we want to achieve by the year 2015, and the fastest way to do this is by prevention and screening." He explained that with annual revenues in excess of $600 million, the campaign’s price tag is less than two percent of the ACS’ annual revenue.
Shot on location in Vancouver, B.C., the spots take advantage of the region’s lush scenery. The misty landscapes roll past as voiceovers list some of the people who might find help at the ACS, including patients, volunteers and cancer survivors. This is followed by the tag, "No matter who you are, we can help," as the ACS logo appears next to the phrase Hope.Progress.Answers. Its 800 number and Web site address are also included. The spots were directed by Gordon Willis Jr., when he was with bicoastal Atherton, which is now bicoastal/international production house Cylo (SHOOT, 3/17, p.1). Willis, who has since joined TAG Pictures, New York, commented, "It’s hard to have shape and design moving and keep the audience’s interest, but I think these spots
really work."
Donaldson said that the spots were aimed at people 35 years and older, and "slightly skewed towards women who make most of the healthcare decisions in families, as well as cancer patients and survivors." Because the ACS’ goal was to increase awareness of the services offered, the requisite high visibility demanded an image campaign that wouldn’t be shunted to times when no one would be watching television. Donaldson explained, "We couldn’t afford not to make certain we could reach our target audience. Time and space for PSAs is limited." He noted that there are 2000 organizations with the word "cancer" in the title, all competing for the small amounts of prime time devoted to PSAs. "We’re at the whim of available time," continued Donaldson. "So we made the very strategic business decision to use paid advertising to get our message across."
However, it wasn’t just the problem of airtime that led the ACS to make the leap to paid advertising, according to T.G. Madison chairman/co-creative director Joanne Truffelman. "We all like to think we do wonderful work for charities and do it pro bono. But unfortunately, when you’re in a business, your paid clients have to come first. Sooner or later, the not-for-profits get burned by having to wait too long for the work. And then sometimes it’s not even done by the senior people at the agency."
This is the ACS’ first foray into large-scale paid advertising, though it did launch a small wills and annuities campaign in the spring of ’98, also through T.G. Madison. While the ACS had previously concentrated on PSAs, said Truffelman, "They really needed to freshen up their campaign—more than freshen it up, they needed to lighten it up."
While no official statistics are in yet, Donaldson said there has been an increase in the number of calls the ACS has received since the spots started airing. He added that the ACS is very pleased with the public’s response to the campaign, and expects the organization to continue using paid advertising in addition to PSAs.
