IPA celebrates 20 years of Best of Health advertising

Outstanding healthcare advertising was recognised last week at the 2015 IPA Best of Health Show, with a range of campaigns recognised for their creativity.

Langland and CAHG USA won the two Best in Show prizes at the event, held in London at the Café de Paris.

This year marks the 20th year of the awards, and guests were joined by a number of founders and past Chairmen of the Best of Health, and there was a special showcase featuring some of the outstanding award winners from the past two decades.

This year's awards saw just two entries win Gold, 34 win Silver and 42 achieve Bronze. Also awarded were special prizes for Best Use of Photography, Copywriting, Illustration, and Art Direction and, new for 2015, The Pip Award for Young Talent. This category challenged new creatives to help raise awareness of the dangers of legal highs, the brief set by the IPA in partnership with the Angelus Foundation.

Best of Show

Best of Show in Consumer/Patient: Langland's mockumentary Sniffers, for Confidante

Langland won the top 'Best of Show' award for advertising to consumers for its integrated 'Sniffers' campaign for Randox's Confidante, a home-testing kit for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The agency's campaign used a humorous approach, creating an online promotion that spoofs police dog units – this time sniffing out undetected STIs, rather than drugs.

The campaign's parody documentary follows the officers and dogs of the fictional 'STI Detection Unit' as they train sniffer dogs and send them out onto the streets after dark to find infected people.

Meanwhile, in the category for advertising aimed at healthcare professionals, CAHG New York - Chicago - San Francisco won 'Best of Show' for its press advertisement campaign for Restylane Silk.

The campaign tapped into customer insights about the target audience, cosmetic dermatologists – who apparently see themselves as artists – helping to make their customers more beautiful. Inspired by this idea, CAHG's campaign paid homage to some classic paintings, such as Botticelli's 'Portrait of a Young Woman' and Lempicka's Young Lady with Gloves (pictured).

Best of Show for healthcare professional audience: Restylane Silk campaign by CAHG

Creative highlights

Chairman of Judges, James Sexton, creative director Ogilvy One Worldwide said: "There were plenty of creative highlights for me in this 20th year of the Awards.

"The humorous approach taken for Confidente with an 'STI Detection Unit' was an excellent way to engage young people. A mockumentary video got people talking online about something that's usually embarrassing. It is probably the first time a campaign about viral STIs actually went viral.

"The Restylane Silk print ads were a vision of beauty. The effects achieved by artists like Botticelli and Vargas are compared to the effects aesthetic dermatologists can attain using Silk. The photographs have been styled exceptionally, and it was a stunningly simple way to appeal to dermatologists' pride, artistry and perfectionism."

Convenor of Judges, Frank Walters, executive creative director and chairman, Frontera London, said the 20th anniversary awards had lived up to expectations in both quantity and quality of entries.

"The winning line-up provides a collection of the finest creative healthcare communications, and I encourage all those wanting to know how to do it right to visit the gallery on the IPA Best of Health Show website."

Special Prizes

Best of Show Consumer

'Sniffers', for Confidante, by Langland

Best of Show Healthcare Professional

'Restylane Silk Direct-to-Professional Print Ad Campaign', for Restylane Silk, by CAHG New York - Chicago - San Francisco

Best Use of Illustration

'Penny the Pirate', for OPSM, by Saatchi & Saatchi Health Sydney

Best Use of Copywriting

'World Heart Day', for AstraZeneca Cardiology, by McCann Health South Africa

Best Use of Art Direction

'Levact – a new perspective', for Levact, by VCCP Health London

Best Use of Photography

'Restylane Silk Direct-to-Professional Print Ad Campaign', for Restylane Silk, by CAHG New York - Chicago - San Francisco

Pip Award for Young Talent

Winner: 'The Trojan High', for The Angelus Foundation, by Rachel Lamb, Sarah Beane, Julia Jerrum, Maxine Bacon at Lime

Highly commended: 'Le gal', for The Angelus Foundation, by Kate Crags, Rosie Hider, Ben Gibson, Luke Middleton, Vibhuti Thake at Saatchi & Saatchi Health London

Highly commended: 'The Experiment', for The Angelus Foundation, by Jay Coombes, Rebecca Foster, Stephanie Mills at Sudler London

Gold Awards

Consumer – UK Integrated Campaign

'Sniffers', for Confidante, by Langland

Consumer – Direct Marketing & Promotional Communications Individual

'Intimate Words', for Always, by Leo Burnett México

To see a full list of all the winning entries, visit www.bestofhealthshow.com