A new heart-wrenching campaign for Children’s Cancer Institute has launched. It’s the first with the help of newly appointed independent creative agency, Orphan. 

Titled A Life Should Be Long, the campaign highlights how a child’s hopes and dreams are crushed when cancer cuts lives short. It asks the public to donate to give kids the best chance at their dream of a longer life.

The bright, playful style of the video ad depicts everything a kid could want: kooky hairstyles, finding success at a “big school”, and making mum feel better with cake. However, when we meet the child behind the voiceover, the ad takes a stark turn. It shows the audience the reality of cancer and a need for a cure.

“Sadly, cancer cuts life short for hundreds of children in Australia every year, before they’ve even had a chance to make their mark on the world,” a representative from Orphan explains. 

“We have seen first-hand the devastation of childhood cancer and the huge hole left in the life of a family who lost their child to this cruel disease.”

“Our aim with the campaign is to inspire support and positivity, rather than evoking fear and hopelessness. A Life Should Be Long brings to life the hopes, the dreams and also the potential that survives when a child survives cancer. We hope we have created something that is persuasive. Something that encourages people to dig deep and help fund vital research.”

Children’s Cancer Institute chief of marketing and fundraising officer, Anne Johnston, spoke of the campaign. “Orphan have been an exceptional partner for this campaign. The team have brought our brand proposition to life in such a compelling way. We have no doubt this campaign will attract new supporters and generate significant funds to help us cure all kinds of cancer.”

About Orphan

Founders of Orphan have developed award-winning work for clients of all shapes and sizes, across all industries and mediums, including Droga5, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB and BBDO. Orphan has almost 40 years of collective experience in some of the region’s most successful agencies. 

“Orphan has been operating for over 12 months now, and we’ve been busier than we could have ever imagined,” Orphan reveals. “After working on a number of exciting brands, we finally found the time to launch our own. Campaigns we have produced over the last year include: ‘Spitting Symphony’ for Single O Coffee, and ‘Style should be for the millions, not just the millionaires’ for furniture store Loungelovers.”

“Having spent years searching for our dream agency, we finally came to the realisation that it didn’t exist. So, we decided to build it. At Orphan, our aim is to create work that is persuasive. Work that twists the consumer’s arm and convinces them to choose a particular brand or product. In short, we write arguments, not ads.”

The Children’s Cancer Institute’s campaign launched at the beginning of September, aptly named Childhood Cancer Awareness month, and will run into 2023 across TV, radio, print, OOH and social media. The ‘A Life Should Be Long’ campaign was created in association with Julian Frost and Unlisted (Animation), Rumble Studios (Music and Sound) and Mint Films (Live Action).