St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare is challenging actor and director Ben Stiller – of Dodgeball, Zoolander and Tropic Thunder fame – to a pickleball showdown against a Toronto doctor.
St. Mike’s latest campaign, the “Paddle Royale Challenge,” launched in February for Heart Month in anticipation of Stiller’s pickleball film, The Dink. In a 60-second spot, sports cardiologist Dr. Kim Connelly challenges Stiller to a match at Paddle Royale, Canada’s “ultimate pickleball fundraiser,” on March 29 in Mississauga.
“We wanted to create a campaign that is hilarious, humanizing and unexpected [and] one that casts a leading sports cardiologist in a light healthcare leaders are rarely seen in,” says Madeline Stephenson, director of communications at St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation.
Stephenson tells strategy that St. Mike’s liked the idea of presenting Dr. Connelly in his clinical element while simultaneously having him step outside of it and into the camera’s focus. The strategic-positioning play amplifies his star power as a physician while highlighting his human side.
“This was definitely a departure for us, and signals a new direction,” Stephenson says, adding that foundation leadership encourages risking-taking in exploring new creative territory. “We saw an opportunity in Paddle Royale, our inaugural peer-to-peer pickleball fundraiser, to break from tradition and create something completely unexpected.”
As Stephenson explains, with world events creating an increasing sense of uncertainty, the ability to be agile and “on” is “perhaps more important than ever.”
For the #PaddleRoyaleChallenge, St. Mike’s is tapping into the strength of its supporter base and the massive and diverse pickleball community in the Greater Toronto Area.
“Those who know us – grateful patients, dedicated donors and passionate volunteers – know the critical role St. Michael’s and Providence play,” Stephenson says. “So for us, it isn’t really about cutting through the noise, it’s about rising above it, and finding meaningful ways to move the needle and connect.”
The work was produced by Holiday United Group (Nimble Content & Recess Post).
The hospital foundation drew upon the talents of its in-house team of journalists and creatives to develop the concept for the challenge. St Michael’s currently doesn’t have an AOR but is in the midst of a formal search, Stephenson says.
