Brief
Raise awareness of Colitis and Crohn’s Disease and how the Catherine McEwan Foundation supports people living with the conditions. With one billboard.
Insight
People with Crohn’s and Colitis often avoid going out because their condition can flare up at any time.
Idea
Create a billboard that connects people going out and about in the city with those who can’t: What’s this shit all about?
The Billboard
For Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Day, we created the world’s first QR code made from toilet roll tubes. The OOH ad linked through to a video of people stuck in their houses, explaining how IBD can prevent them getting about and about like the viewer.
We got around ASA rules by having a local graffiti artist tag the headline on surreptitiously (proving that swearing can be both big and clever).
The Film
People with Crohn’s and Colitis used the headline as a jumping off point to talk about their experiences living with their condition and how the Catherine McEwan Foundation has supported them.
Results
Obviously, the organic reach of a billboard in Glasgow wasn’t the real goal here – this shit was all about PR. After all, how often do you see a billboard made out of toilet paper? Sure enough, the media response was MASSIVE:
13 media outlets covered the story, including The Drum, Campaign, STV, and The Times.
Over 250k people saw or read the media coverage.
Traffic to the Catherine McEwan’s website increased by 532%.