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Creative NHS Karmarama

Babylon's divisive GP at Hand app launches bold 'Get Well Now' billboards

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By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

November 5, 2018 | 3 min read

Controversial healthcare upstart Babylon has launched a punchy campaign to promote its GP at Hand app– which allows people to book a video call with an NHS doctor "in seconds".

babylon campaign

The copy-led campaign marks brand's first major work since appointing Karmarama / Babylon

The copy-led campaign marks brand's first major work since appointing Karmarama to handle its creative earlier this year. It will run across OOH in London and online, heroing the immediacy of its service, which also gives patients access to digital prescriptions and lets them check their symptoms with an AI tool.

A series of bold, colourful posters play on the term 'get well soon', replacing the last work with 'now'. On Instagram and Facebook 'tongue-in-cheek' executions will see the brand adopt cultural memes and references to position GP at Hand as 'the most 2018 way' to access healthcare.

Brian Williams,executive creative director at Karmarama, said: “For many, healthcare is less accessible than an artery-clogging pizza. Babylon is bringing change to this space akin to the changes that have revolutionised travel accommodations, music, and transportation, and we’re proud to collaborate with them as they shrink the distance between Londoners and healthcare to a matter of minutes.”

The Babylon GP at Hand service, which is currently only available in London, has been no stranger to controversy since its launch last year.

In October, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned a series of ads from from brand for failing to make clear that using the app would result in patients giving up their existing GP practice.

NHS GPs have also protested against the service, saying that it's attracting a large number of younger patients and a result stripping away funding that existing practices need to provide services for older, sicker people. GPs have also cautioned that it's not open to a wide range of patients with "complex needs" including those who are pregnant or have dementia.

Earlier this year, Babylon founder Ali Parsa told The Drum that he wanted “to put an accessible and affordable health service in the hands of every person on Earth,” and create reliable AI doctors.

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