Advertiser: PARKINSON VERENIGING
Agency: SAATCHI & SAATCHI / LEO BURNETT
Category: Charities
Advertising campaign: WORST HARLEM SHAKE EVER
Account Director: Francis Verdouw (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Account Assistant: Frank Van Den Koppel (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Producer: Levi Rijper (DPPLR)
Producer: Maarten Groen (DPPLR)
Creative Director/Art Director: Maarten Dobbelaar (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Creative Director/Copywriter: Rick Coolegem (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Art Director: Tim Ten Dam (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Managing Director: Marcel Hölscher (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Editor: Paul Te Riele (DPPLR)
Dop: Bycen Molenaar (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Copywriter: Jan Bosch (Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett)
Editor: Ruben Labree (DPPLR)
Outcome
> 1,000,000 Combined number of views80.23% Positive reviews on the original YouTube video87.7% Average playing time (average up to the 25th second)47% Absolute viewer loyalty169 Countries where the film was viewed> 10,000 Initial Tweets from featured articles> 5,000 Initial Likes from featured articles+ 1,406.28% Facebook visits+ 141.56% Website visits.News sites and bloggers in > 70 countries shared the video and wrote about it.A lot of free PR which brought Parkinson’s disease on peoples agenda. All this with a budget of € 0,-
Implementation
For the Dutch Parkinson’s Foundation, we made a Harlem Shake that, in contrast to all other Harlem Shakes, had a serious message: 'Shaking. Fun for some... Daily struggle for others.'. Due to this unexpected message, viewers became aware of the severity of the disease. News sites and bloggers in more than 70 countries picked up the video and wrote about it. Resulting in more than 1 million views. The film received a positive rating by 80.23% of the viewers. All over the world, people were suddenly talking about Parkinson’s disease and the Dutch Parkinson’s Foundation.
Client Brief Or Objective
Nearly 70,000 Dutch people suffer from Parkinson’s disease: a progressive brain disease that causes patients to lose the ability to control their body movements. Outsiders have little understanding of the disease, which leads to fewer donations. Therefore not enough research can be done. The Dutch Parkinson’s Foundation is committed to changing that. Their limited budget forces them to seek publicity in an impactful yet affordable way. Since severe shaking is one of the many symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, The Harlem Shake hype came at just the right time. We followed up on it with 'The Worst Harlem Shake ever'...
Relevancy
In all Harlem Shakes people lose control of their bodies for 30 seconds through uncontrolled shaking. We wanted the world to see that shaking is a daily reality for Parkinson’s patients, with all its consequences. The leading role was played by Eric Roos, Chairman of the Dutch Parkinson’s Foundation and a patient himself. He deliberately did not take his medication on the day of the filming so the whole world could see what Parkinson’s can do.