Everyone loves a good plot twist. Introducing a radical change at the very last minute is a neat technique to stop viewers – and, evidently, a Cannes Lion jury – in their tracks.

Deviating from what could have been considered an expected storyline in the “American Cancer Story” for non-profit Change the Ref is what sealed Klick Health’s fate as Canada’s only Gold Entertainment Lion winner for 2024.

“It was probably the best demonstration of brand collaboration that we saw out of just about every piece of work,” Geoffrey Edwards, entertainment jury president and ECD at Gale, told strategy after revealing the winners. “The twist at the very end was one that we all loved, and we didn’t see it coming.”

(Editor’s tip: Watch the spot below before reading on.)

The short film about survival tackles two tragedies – one of youth cancer and another of youth gun violence – in a single shot, so to speak. Change the Ref partnered with AMC, SundanceTV, IFC and others to run the scripted short in movie theatres and on digital streamers.

While sharing the truth around alarming gun violence in schools, the organization also worked with 10 pediatric hospitals to help fund cancer research. “We were really leaning into the sub-category definition and making sure that [the work] was clearly [aligned], which it was for brand partnerships, where it won a Gold,” added Edwards.

“There were brands that came together and identified the need to set themselves aside, because cancer could have told the story on it’s own, or gun violence could have told the story – but what we loved is that they came together to tell both stories in equal parts. It was a true collaboration.”

The top medal added to the campaign’s Silver, which was given out earlier on Tuesday.