This story appears in the April/May 2016 issue of strategy. Grand Prix: Cause Gold: CSR Gold: Partnering Gold: Integration Like many charities during the holiday season, SickKids Foundation is sometimes overlooked. The foundation needed to get people to take time during this busy period and make a donation to The Hospital for Sick Children. It’s easy for Canadians to get caught up in their own problems but things can always be worse: sometimes people need a new perspective (such as seeing what a child at SickKids goes through every day) to put their own lives into focus. Working with J. Walter Thompson, SickKids created 45 videos that ran as separate commercials every day during the 2014 holiday season. Each of the spots in the “Better Tomorrows” campaign featured a new patient and showed viewers what they were going through the same day the commercial aired. As viewers watched TV on Nov. 10, for example, they learned how two-year-old Taylum was in need of a kidney transplant. On Dec. 4, they heard how 12-year-old Wahaab went through a nine-hour surgery that day to remove his colon cancer. Beyond TV, the foundation ran timely print ads in local and national newspapers, and a website housed all of the daily spots and gave updates as they happened. It was also the first time SickKids ran ads in cinema. More than 20 different companies donated media space and Coldplay donated the song “Fix You,” which was used as the videos’ soundtrack. The “Better Tomorrows” campaign helped SickKids achieve its highest-ever social media engagement, tracking 88 million impressions. But the real success came by way of donations. In December 2014, the hospital received the largest donation amount for a single month: approximately $37 million, exceeding the previous year – what had been the biggest month in the hospital’s 42-year history – by $8 million. Credits Advertiser | SickKids Foundation VP, brand strategy and communications | Lori Davison Manager, SickKids ambassador program | Lisa Charendoff Manager, digital projects | Harleen Bhogal Agency | J. Walter Thompson Canada Chief creative officer | Brent Choi SVP, ECD | Ryan Spelliscy ACD | Andy Brokenshire AD | Cindy Marie Habana CW | Mike De Candido VP integrated production | Andrew Schulze Senior broadcast producer | Raquel Rose Print production | Nicola Martin, Susan Goodfellow Digital team | Kevin Tam, Patrick Schroen, James O’Leary, Rob Emlay, Joe Szabo Account team | Neil MacLellan, Sarah Leveille Production company | Sons & Daughters Director | Mark Zibert Executive producer | Joan Bell Post-production | Panic & Bob Editor | Michelle Czukar Assistant editor | Laura McMillan Executive producer | Sam McLaren Music House | Eggplant Audio post director and music supervisor | Adam Damelin Media agency | Mindshare