This campaign targets pulmonologists and infectious disease specialists—the HCPs who diagnose, treat, and manage patients with NTM lung disease. Far too often, these physicians don’t include NTM in their differential diagnosis nor prioritize the treatment of this progressive rare disease, leaving patients suffering for years without answers or reprieve.

With physicians misunderstanding their patients’ complaints for years, we knew that a patient simply telling her story wasn’t going to make an impact. Instead, we employed the art of storytelling to deliver a breakthrough campaign to get doctors’ attention.

In order to bring Beth’s NTM diagnosis journey to life, we used stop-motion animation. Without dialogue, we needed the animation style to carry the story and the emotion for the film. The whole film is imbued with melancholy from the color palette, uninspiring environments, and awkward social interactions, representing how sad and uncomfortable Beth’s undiagnosed NTM makes her. The stop-motion style allowed us to work with different textures and materials to give the film a human, handmade feel. Making the characters with felt brought a softness and vulnerability to them, which helps the viewer relate more and empathize with Beth’s struggles.