We told a true story. Or stories. We heard from multiple mothers who had a child with meningitis B. A happy, healthy kid in the prime of his/her life suddenly doesn’t feel well. It looks like the flu. But it gets worse, then scary, and then the mother is alone in a hospital room…terrified she’ll lose her child.

We needed to make that story compelling to every parent of a teenager, in one 60-second TV spot. So instead of focusing on a child with meningitis getting sicker and sicker, we turned it around. We started with the moment when we’re not sure if the child will survive, then took a 24-hour journey in reverse, searching for the catalyst to this deadly situation. The boy gets healthier and healthier until that frightening moment that explains how easy it is to be brought to the verge of death. An innocent kiss.