Situation/Problem: When it comes to healthcare advertising, there are no lack of award shows. Despite a crowded field of competitors, how would NYF/NYFH’s Health Awards generate the attention it deserves from creative talent, client leadership, and the larger marketing world?

Our Idea/Solution: Tapping into the legacy of a show that has been held in New York City since 1957, we transformed the potential weakness of its age into a strength, positioning the show as an ongoing leader in elevating great ads when it comes to health.

With a tagline that elegantly captures the entire idea, “We were into health when New York wasn’t.”

The campaign playfully deployed iconic photographs of New Yorkers at a time when smoking was rampant, only athletes “exercised,” and a good life meant a life on the La-Z Boy chair in front of the tv (and tv dinner).

With minimal words, the campaign reminds us how far we have come, and positions the NYF/NYFH’s Health Awards as a leader.

We asked what makes NYFH unique compared to other Health Award Shows? Scott Rose, Director of the NYF & NYFH said, “Well, we’ve been judging Healthcare & Pharma work since 1957.”

That was it! We had a great little insight to brief the entire creative department, and the idea ‘We were into health when New York wasn’t’ campaign was born. This idea features the NYF award statue as a persona from another era.

We had the use of some striking photographs of old New York, back when people weren’t quite so health focused. The campaign idea encapsulates how NYFH was there then, and we’re still here today, leading by example.