Akron Children’s Hospital, ranked one of the best children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report, and its agency of record, Marcus Thomas, have created a new campaign, “More childhood, please,” which argues that childhood is endangered. With illness, injury, jam-packed family schedules, screen addiction, scary nightly news, and online bullying, there are many forces that steal precious time away from childhood.
Using the power of found amateur footage and audio – a departure from the revolutionary, unscripted, documentary-style approach released more than 10 years ago – the campaign celebrates the authentic joys of childhood and reminds audiences not to take a single second of it for granted.
“More childhood, please” is realer than ever before, using amateur footage shot on smartphones, which echoes how many parents in 2019 capture and chart their children’s many milestones.
The campaign features real patients, employee families and kids in the Akron community – and the result is a beautifully imperfect, authentic look at childhood as it whizzes past us, moment by moment. Digital radio spots for the campaign were created with found sound recordings of children laughing, singing songs and telling wildly imaginative stories.
Through integrated elements, the campaign captures the many ways in which Akron Children’s delivers more childhood, including their pediatric expertise, which adds years to children’s lives and helps children fighting illness and injury live their lives to the fullest extent possible.
Additionally, the spots feature their dedicated staff, who bring the little joys of childhood to patients whose lives have been interrupted by illness or injury, and all of the ways that the entire organization is committed to helping every child have a happier, healthier childhood through community programs, educational resources and increased access to care.
The campaign, which will run from January 28 through February 10 to coincide with the Super Bowl, will incorporate multiple touch points including network and cable television, digital pre-roll, connected TV, native video, Facebook and Instagram news feed videos and Stories, streaming radio with audio and video units and out-of-home billboards. The :60 spot will run in the Super Bowl pre-show and the :30 spot will run during the game in both the Cleveland and Youngstown DMAs, a first for the brand.