The No Ad initiative bought up advertising spaces in order to block advertisements. It did so because these ads preceded first aid videos on YouTube. And in Brazil, where people frequently look for information on the internet to offset emergency service delays averaging out at 38 minutes, a few seconds lost before these first aid videos could be fatal.

This initiative sponsored first aid channels to demonetize their videos, preventing ads from hampering people seeking online help. By doing so, it streamlines access to information during emergencies, saving precious seconds that can be crucial for saving lives.

Despite one of the world’s best free healthcare systems, Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), the nation still faces massive hurdles in this field. Access to more remote regions of its continent-sized landmass is still tricky, while emergency services take an average of 38 minutes to arrive at the locations of occurrences, particularly in densely populated urban areas.

So what’s the usual solution among Brazilians for coping with these delays? Searching for first aid videos on YouTube and then performing rescue maneuvers and using emergency techniques on their own, until help arrives.

In Brazil, emergency services take an average of 38 minutes to reach the location of an occurrence. Consequently, many people seek information on life-saving techniques and maneuvers in YouTube videos during life-and-death situations.

With this in mind, Brazil’s Pague Menos drugstore chain took a major step towards changing this reality. Ranked second nationwide, it is known for not only selling medications, but also for running initiatives and programs that care for people's health and well-being.

Our challenge was to raise brand awareness and position Pague Menos as a company that is seamlessly aligned with its slogan: ‘Everything for Your Health.’

In an emergency, every second counts. With this in mind, Pague Menos launched its No Ad project. This initiative saves precious seconds for people at risk by removing ads before first aid videos.

How did we do this? By sponsoring first aid channels, persuading them to demonetize their first aid videos by removing the opening ads. That's right: Pague Menos buys up advertising space to remove ads!

In Brazil, the potentially lethal combination of sluggish emergency services and advertisements delaying instant access to first aid videos made no distinctions based on age, gender, race, or social status. We realized that our target market was anyone and everyone, among more than 214 million Brazilians.

Eager to reach out directly to people dealing with emergency situations, we partnered with first aid channels addressing top search topics in this field, signing sponsorship agreements on demonetizing these videos. In other words, we paid for no bumper or in-stream ads presented with this type of content.

First, we tracked the top internet search topics related to emergency care, such as cardiac massage, Heimlich maneuver, first aid and so on. Then this lengthy list of terms guided our quest for the most relevant first aid channels. The next step was to sign sponsorship agreements for demonetizing these videos, banning ads before or during this content. We thus directly impacted people looking for specific types of first aid. In June 2023, we showcased this invisible movement by inviting creators to talk about this topic together with pharmaceutical brands and influencer mothers who had already resorted to first aid videos.

Despite being an "invisible" project, No Ad has achieved important results for the Pague Menos brand and, above all, for people at risk.

By buying advertising space so that there would be no advertising before first aid videos, we’ve got:

• Over 5 million media impressions

• 31% increase in positive interactions

• 334% increase in brand likes

• 44 articles published

• 2,366,561 page views

But the outcome that will really change this situation: a statement published in the YouTube blog on January 24, 2024, announcing that this streaming giant is keeping an eye on this issue and is taking action.