the inside story of your gut – abBott pharma
Disrupting a tired industry trope with an award-winning, light-hearted animation
For some years it has been a humorous point of conversation to tell people my most awarded work is an animation about diarrhoea.
Healthcare ‘mode of action’ animations are typically quite literal, clinical depictions of molecules, cells, enzymes and the like. For the client, this antidiarrhoeal, with its groundbreaking paediatric indication, presented multiple marketing challenges. Informing doctors of the ‘mode of action’ of the drug, while also overcoming their disinterest in diarrhoea as serious condition. And simultaneously, creating a piece that could be used to help patients and parents understand the medication they were being given.
Watch the full film (3 min)
Visualising and empathising with an upset child and/or parent helped cement a visual approach.
The solution was creating a unique cartoon world where the intestinal cells and enzymes were cute characters with a common ‘knitted’ look, contrasting with the ALIEN-esque look of bacteria and viruses, and a sleek, droid-like character to portray the medication.
One of the special parts of this project was collaborating on character design with Sheffield-based Finger Industries, finding a great balance between budget and artistry. In what must surely be a never-to-be-repeated moment, the client sent some feedback ‘could there be more farting noise please’.
In a typical ‘2 degrees of separation’ moment, I discovered on the day of recording that the voiceover artist Brian Perkins, chosen for his iconic ‘BBC voice’, was a fellow New Zealander.
Agency/Client Publicis Langland / Abbott Pharmaceuticals
Year 2011
Country United Kingdom
My roles Concept / art direction / typography
Animation Finger Industries
Media Website / B2B
IMPACT
Despite the shoestring budget, this animation scooped a number of premium creative awards, including Best in Show for Illustration in the UK, and a bronze at the Clio awards in New York.
Beyond the awards, a wider positive effect of the work became apparent.
The international success of the disruptive creative approach empowered other agencies to pitch bolder new ideas to their clients.
Then, off the back of the success of this piece, the animation studio found themselves inundated by new briefs – eventually creating a whole new and enduring work-stream for them.