MS Australia: This Bike Has Ms [video]

Credits & Description:

Titile: This Bike Has Ms
Agency: Grey Melbourne
Brand: Ms Australia
Country: Australia
Advertising Agency: Grey Melbourne
Entrant Company: Grey Melbourne
Media Agency: Grey Melbourne
Pr Agency: Grey Melbourne
Production Company: Glasscase Productions, Melbourne
Digital Director: Evan Karas (Grey)
Ms Group Manager Marketing / Communications: Jan Staunton (Ms Limited Australia)
Creative: Joash Tham (Grey)
Designer: Renee Luri (Grey)
Finished Artist: Amahl Weereratne (Grey)
Digital And Social Manager: Belle Thompson (Grey)
Editor: Chris Brown (Trace House)
Photographer: Daniel Herrmann (Hell Studios)
Digital Executive Creative Director: Junjek Low (Grey Singapore)
Photographer: Louis Petruccelli (Louis Petruccelli)
Creative: Ryland Summers (Grey)
Creative: Adam Grant (Grey)
National Planning Director: Danish Chan (Grey)
Agency Producer: Katie Wellbelove (Grey)
Director: Max Walter (Jump Production)
Photographer: Liane Hurvitz (Liane Hurvitz)
Ms Marketing Specialist: Tegan Berry (Ms Limited Australia)
Account Manager: Aaron Rocca (Grey)
Editor: Leigh Cooke (Glass Case Productions)
Chief Creative Officer: Michael Knox (Grey)
Dop: Daniel Gallagher (Daniel Gallagher)
Digital Art Director: Sebastian Quek (Grey Singapore)
General Manager: Claudia Mcinerney (Grey)
Digital Project Manager: Nicolas Brosse (Grey Singapore)
Strategy:
The StrategyUse the experience of a bike ride to show the debilitating nature of MS.This was a 3-part strategy.1.If language is our problem, stop talking.If words don’t do Multiple Sclerosis justice, we need to show people what we mean. Bring the symptoms to life in a way that was unmissable. 2.Create an education idea people want to spend time with, over time.Unless personally affected by MS, there is little motivation to spend time understanding the disease. If we were to create an education experience that shocked or scared people, the lifespan of the idea would be minimal. Create an idea that sparked curiosity and talkability, and we could hopefully create longer-term demand for our idea.3.Turn the medium into the message.Turn a generic charity ride into something that speaks specifically to MS, and use this as a platform to drive donations.
Campaign Description:
To improve the understanding of MS and raise funds, we hid the debilitating symptoms of MS in the design of a bike. Working with Paralympian gold medallist Carole Cooke, neurologists, physiotherapists, bike mechanics, sport scientists and people living with MS we hid the debilitating symptoms of MS in its design. This bike was then ridden at the MS charity event by Olympic cyclist Shane Kelly. His struggle shocked spectators and journalists as the symptoms of MS made the bike so tough to ride they struggled to finish the charity race.
Outcome:
This Bike has MS is the most far reaching campaign on record for MS Australia, outperforming the previous benchmark set by the previous campaign. Some stand out results include:•The story of the bike was covered in 63 countries•13 health brands including 5 global pharmaceutical brands now use the bike for education•The bike has helped raise more than $1 million for MS treatment•New bikes are now being built in Japan, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, Australia and the USA•The campaign garnered more than 7 million in earned media.
Brief with projected outcomes:
There are no restricting guidelines relevant to an education, advocacy or fundraising campaign for this campaign.
Audience:
MS is unbelievably difficult to understand and diagnose due to the complexity of its often invisible symptoms. In order to improve education and treatment for potential patients, we needed to create a new conversation around MS amongst potential suffers of MS and medical professionals talk about MS and support treatment.
Execution:
Firstly, we built a bike with the symptoms of MS hidden inside its parts.To improve the understanding of MS and raise funds, we created a bike with MS.Teeth were removed from its gears to mimic spasticity. Ball bearings were tucked inside the handlebars to create pins and needles. The frame was made heavy and the wheels buckled to cause fatigue and offset balance forcing the rider to constantly fight against it just to keep it straight. Then the Bike was launched at the MS Melbourne CycleThe bike was ridden at a MS charity event by Olympic cyclist Shane Kelly. Live-streamed to an audience with a direct link to fundraising, spectators witnessed him struggle to even finish the charity ride. Shane commentated via live feeds on the massive toll the bike was taking on his body, shedding light on the symptoms of MS in an entirely new way.
Synopsis:
Nearly 24,000 Australians are diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Although relatively small compared to the better-known diseases, MS is the most common chronic disease of the central nervous system amongst young Australians. Unfortunately, MS is unbelievably difficult to understand and diagnose due to the complexity of its often invisible symptoms. Our task was to help educate the public and health professionals and help raise funds for treatment.Objective 1: Help raise $300K via donations.Objective 2: Create a better understanding of MS amongst the general public and health professionals.