HS can be difficult to identify. But our audience are intelligent healthcare professionals, they thrive on getting things right; solving problems that lead to better patient outcomes. An intriguing, beautiful puzzle was the perfect way to navigate the myriad shock tactics and graphic imagery vying for their everyday attention.

Strictly no mention or link to be made to the sole branded pharma treatment likely to be prescribed. Cultural restrictions on showing naked female forms meant duplicate casting, bodypaint and design process using a male model (for use in UAE markets or as an alternative if preferred in other markets).

It can take years to diagnose HS. Patients often feel invisible. This campaign was conceived and executed to dramatise this idea of invisibility, with a patient covered in body paint blending in against a bespoke wallpaper.

To avoid "empathy fatigue", we avoided typical shock tactics. Instead, we designed a beautiful and yet menacing pattern: creeping ivy (invasive), thorns (suffering) and red (pain). The ivy was painted carefully into the areas of the body associated with HS. No CGI was used: we used real artists, carefully-planned photography and subtle lighting. We also cast talent to closely match the profile of real HS patients.

We used a 12x12 diffuser and one strobe light to capture the final image. The diffused soft light created an organic and beautifully-lit image, complimenting the artist's work and grounding the final image in reality. We also deliberately kept brushstrokes in the image to accentuate the realness.

Our HCP audience are compassion-fatigued problem solvers. Compassion fatigue is the emotional strain of being exposed to the suffering of others – it is common amongst caregivers, including doctors and nurses. Similarly, over-exposure to graphic medical imagery means that shocking images of just how horrific HS can become are unlikely to register with our audience – even fuelling a blame culture rather than providing an empowering way to engage. Reaching HCPs in familiar territory via banners on MedScape also meant competing with a sea of such medical imagery. Our approach was ‘disruptive beauty’. An unexpected visual style, twinned with the cerebral puzzle/challenge to ‘find the HS sufferer’. Banner clicks take the HCP to their local site where our downloadable guides to diagnosing HS are available, alongside the local referral process.