Becel

This was year three of the Becel “Love Your Heart” campaign, which aims to inspire women 25 to 54 to make heart health a priority.

PHD knew that capturing women’s attention through key influential figures would be the way to get them to consider their heart health.

Partnerships were formed with two well-known directors/actors (Sarah Polley for English and Pascale Bussières for French markets) to each create a two-minute short film to express Becel’s “Love Your Heart” message. (Polley later removed her name from the project, claiming she was unaware of the corporate sponsorship.) These were The Heart in English and Le Coeur C’est Sacré in French.

The directors’ shorts would premiere during the Oscars and its French equivalent, Les Jutra. For the Oscars, PHD partnered with entertainment show etalk. The partnership included on-set coverage of the film shoot, sponsored editorial clips featuring celebrities and etalk promos featuring hosts Tanya Kim and Ben Mulroney encouraging viewers to watch the premiere of the short film during the Oscars.

Integration during the etalk Red Carpet pre-show included Kim wearing a red dress (a symbol of the cause) by Canadian designer Andy Thê-Anh. A piece detailing Andy’s designing of the dress and its connection to Becel aired during the pre-show. Mulroney also wore a red pocket square and each host mentioned Becel’s “Love Your Heart” campaign.

In a first, the premiere of The Heart aired right after the Oscar Short Film award. The full commercial block was bought by Becel, and the film ended with Mulroney encouraging viewers to learn more on Facebook.

The campaign was supported by an advertorial in Canadian Living, featuring an interview with Kim and dress sketches by Thê-Anh.

In French Canada, the film premiered in-show during Les Jutra. After the awards, Bussières was interviewed during a show dedicated to the winners. An advertorial in the celebrity magazine 7 Jours featured an interview with Bussières discussing the making of the film and her partnership with Becel.

Both English and French films gained further exposure through digital pre-roll and cinema ads.

This campaign contributed to a 35% share increase over the past three years. Becel went from zero to 20,000 Facebook fans, campaign recognition was 44% above norms and visits to the Becel site increased 50% vs. the same period last year.