Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards - 2024

Campaign: Stigmavir, "#SmashStigma"
Agency/Firm: Bensimon Byrne
Client: Casey House

Despite advances in treatment, many people with HIV still encounter bias and stereotyping when seeking care. Toronto-based specialty hospital Casey House partnered with Bensimon Byrne to launch the fifth iteration of its #SmashStigma campaign in May to raise awareness about and challenge the stigma against HIV patients in healthcare settings.

The campaign — which took home the gold among providers and insurers for Branded Entertainment/Content Campaign of the Year — gently encouraged clinicians to make a change through humor and pathos by promoting Stigmavir, a fictional drug that “cures” HIV stigma.

Creative materials — including a two-minute video ad featuring a rewritten version of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” out-of-home ads and mailers — direct viewers to a website that offers a toolkit with more resources, such as tips for creating a welcoming environment for HIV patients and printable signage that identifies a practice as a stigma-free zone. Brand ambassadors also handed out 200 Stigmavir kits to healthcare professionals going to work.

The campaign has generated more than 13 million media impressions, and more than 400 healthcare professionals have downloaded the stigma-free toolkit on the website, according to the agency.