Janssen 2015: advert-body-2 by Edelman UK

Over 900,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with blood cancer every year, but most people are unaware of these serious, often incurable diseases.

Because people don’t understand the disease or what the diagnosis means, blood cancer doesn’t get the attention it needs and is effectively invisible. This lack of awareness means that blood cancer is not prioritised by the EU and many national governments.

Edelman worked with Janssen to develop the‘Make Blood Cancer Visible’ campaign which encourages people to share their stories and experiences with blood cancer. The centre piece is a short film showing the internal emotional struggle many blood cancer patients go through.

Inspired by the story of a patient living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and produced by Kode Media, the film visually portrays the internal and emotional struggle that many people who are diagnosed with blood cancer face. Shot in black and white on 16mm film, the film was overlaid with tones and textures to convey a visceral feel of the emotional and physical struggle and gain the audience’s understanding.