BRIEF

Ixodes holocyclus.

Commonly known as the Australian paralysis tick, this parasite is one of 75 species of native tick fauna and also the most concerning for pet owners and vets, as just one bite can kill a dog. But it’s the way they kill that’s truly malignant.

Paralysis ticks take a blood meal from the dog in order to grow, develop and reproduce — first biting the skin and remaining attached before feeding for days at a time whilst injecting neurotoxins into the bloodstream, ultimately causing progressive muscular immobility.

STRATEGY

With September marking the start of the paralysis tick season and also coinciding with Bayer’s Annual Conference, this was our chance to communicate the fatal dangers to Advantage Family reps.

Our strategic twist was designed to whet the appetite of attendees with a simple insight: Q. What’s a tired healthcare rep at the end of a conference? A. Bloody hungry.

SOLUTION

Knowing the habits of attendees, we decided to surprise them in their hotel rooms with a very special meal: a blood bag on dinner plate inside a pizza box.

Of course, the blood was fake, the plate was fake, and the pizza was nowhere to be seen. 

Instead, a deliberately cheesy receipt (also fake) reminded reps that — unlike the competitor product NexGard® – Advantix doesn’t require a blood meal to work, so there’s the need for ticks to bite at all in order to uptake the active ingredient, afoxolaner.

Who would’ve thought a novelty plastic blood bag full of liquid red candy would help save Aussie dogs from lethargy, vomiting, anaemia, bacterial skin infections and, most importantly, an unnecessary painful death.  

EFFECTIVENESS

Anecdotal feedback from the Bayer Annual Conference was extremely positive.

Many delegates elected to souvenir the pizza box for its novelty factor, whilst an overwhelming demand for the piece to be supplied as a sales tool for Bayer Reps presented an enviable predicament for Regional Managers.

AWARDS

2015 New York Festivals Global Advertising Awards | Best Use Of Media: Direct Mail | FINALIST

BRIEF

What do Russian grandmothers and feline lungworm have in common? If you answered ‘nyet’, you’d be wrong (on more than one level).

If you thought for a moment that the threat of lungworm in cats is real and the key to preventing it lay nestled inside generations of family knowledge, you’d be right.

STRATEGY 

Advocate — part of The Advantage Family — needed a disruptive and memorable anti-lungworm awareness campaign, so we challenged ourselves to come up with something grandma would be proud of. 

The thing with cats is, you just never know what they’ll drag in. To illustrate this proverbial truth, we created the Advocate Babushcat Nesting Doll.

SOLUTION

A tactile DM piece designed specifically for Bayer Animal Health reps to help educate vets and vet clinic staff on the dangers of deadly lungworm in cats, Babushcat told a sensitive brand story through an approachable device by dramatising the transfer process of the killer parasite into cats via their prey.

Babushcat was supported in-clinic by a series of tactical floor decals and an Advent Calendar style detailer allowing reps to uncover the hidden dangers of lungworm whilst positioning Advocate as the obvious solution.