This campaign was aimed at Healthcare Prfessionals

Restrictions and regulations apply differently to specific countries. The Brintellix campaign has been designed to accommodate as many as possible.

Doctors and patients do not necessarily understand that major depression affects more than just mood. Major depressive episodes also cause cognitive symptoms which create difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness, difficulty planning slowed thinking and poor attention.

The task was to bring these symptoms to life in a way that dramatizes the issues a depressed person might face when everyday functioning is compromised due to these additional problems.

The agency’s self-imposed additional goal was to create an emotional component for the brand by showing how the cognitive symptoms of depression can affect friends, family and colleagues of the depressed patient.

The target audience was healthcare professionals around the world with a focus on family doctors and psychiatrists. The overall aims were:

To maximise the recognition of cognitive symptoms as an important component of depression

To create awareness of the new treatment for depression which can tackle these symptoms as well as mood

To maximise uptake, recommendation and prescription of the new medication as it became available in various countries around the world

Shot in London over several days, overseen by Art Directors and Writers from agencies in both Chicago and London, this was a true collaborative effort. The specific visual strength of the campaign springs from its' determination to not fall into the 'old school' pharma trap of portraying 'happy, smiley patients', but to take the viewer into the very personal world of the patient and those close to them.

In a survey commissioned by Lundbeck and carried out by Kantar Health, the following results have been reported;

• Brintellix messaging relevance has risen to the top

• Brintellix has strong believability scores

• Brintellix has the most memorable campaign

• Was ahead of major competitor brands in 'Uniqueness'

This integrated core campaign was developed to be applicable across a variety of media in the client’s operating countries as dictated by the varying regulatory environments for prescription medicines.

The client company had developed a new antidepressant which had a direct, beneficial effect on both mood and the cognitive symptoms of depression. This drug has a different mode of action to its competitors making it a more complete treatment for depression.

The agency chose to show the consequences of these additional symptoms as a means of stopping the viewer. This is unusual in the pharmaceutical marketing environment which usually attempts to show a positive outcome in people who have responded to their medication.