Heart Foundation CMO: Last week was the most challenging of my career
Chris Taylor, the chief marketing officer of the Heart Foundation, has spoken out about the toll the Heartless Words campaign has taken, and said pressure from donors and other health groups ultimately led to its axing.
The campaign copped backlash for featuring a dying mother telling her child “every time I told you I loved you, I was lying”.
Speaking at Mumbrella360 on the charity’s previous, and wildly successful, Serial Killer campaign it executed in partnership with News Corp, Taylor said the charity’s numerous obstacles – apathy, inspiring donations, lack of awareness and just how preventable heart disease could be – meant it had to “bring back the fear of heart disease”.
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I was one of the doubters before yesterday. But then I heard Chris at mumbrella 360 and it all made sense. People are all too complacent about their health and long term diseases so apathy around messaging is rife. Bravery is too rare these days, especially in nfp. Heart foundation took risks, some paid off, some didn’t. Thankfully heartless words already saved lives, so it wasn’t a wasted exercise. Chris you turned me around, and I wasn’t expecting to, thank you for that experience.
Agree with Mark Ritson on this and commend Chris Taylor for his courage, followed by his honesty
I believe that the chief marketing officer’s intentions were strictly honourable, and I have no doubt that the intent was heartfelt, however, there is an inherent problem with attempting to force a heartfelt desire upon an audience, via the medium of theatrical presentation.
[quote] “He said the charity cannot afford to go “soft” on the issue, as it simply doesn’t cut through. The brand needs to take risks, and shock, surprise and scare people.” [unquote]
Going “soft” on the issue is not even an option, so why use it as a comparison?
To get to the cutting edge of theatre, one must always take risks, and to shock and surprise is part of the essential stock in trade, but to “scare” is something very different indeed. Theatre uses mystery and suspense to raise tension, the aim is to bring the audience to a level of tension that is only just bearable, but there must always be a built-in relief, and this requires very careful and cautious planning.
The golden rule of theatre is “Never inflict pain upon an audience”
Interesting perspective and it feels like you’re right in this scenario. However I think it’s commendable to see a brand attempt an unconventional narrative. After all that’s when creativity is often at its best.
To attempt an unconventional narrative is one approach to the cutting edge I have mentioned, and I agree, this is certainly where creativity is at its best. The cutting edge presents a very fine line, however, and a deal of skill and caution is required to avoid disaster.
I saw the ad and thought it was for a smoking ad, which I think would have been brilliant because people know how bad smoking is and yet they continue to smoke. To be honest I lost the message of who it was for in the end, but I thought the creative behind it was very clever.
I’m the Comms Manager at a small health-related NFP. As part of an awareness campaign recently I made a mis-step where I put out an infographic that described (in graphic detail) how a certain condition affected the people who have it. The reaction our organisation got from some of our members was fierce, and after a lot of feedback the graphic was changed.
Ours was a much smaller scale example than Heartless Words, but the lesson I learned from it is to ensure that people with the condition are involved in co-creation of important messaging. Seems obvious in hindsight but then again hindsight is 20-20. We’re putting steps into place to make sure that happens at our NFP from now on.
If this principle had been the case with Heartless Words, I wonder whether it would have ever seen the light of day.
I was also a doubter going into this. I saw the ad and, as a father, it made me feel ill. Truth be told, I didn’t even finish the ad.
I am a 30+ year smoker and after hearing Mr Taylor speak, I realise now my discomfort was a reflection of my own choices and accountability. Immediately after the presentation, I went online and booked a visit to my doctor. I’ve never done such a 180 spin on a piece of work. Mr Taylor – I commend you on your honesty and bravery. Heartless Words is a message that simply must get out to help more people like myself and many others. It’s time we took responsibility for our own ‘heartless words’ and ‘heartless actions’.
To be frank I’m surprised at the editorial license taken in this article. Having been at the seminar, I’m wondering why you chose to focus entirely on the hardships, outrage and ultimate removal of the campaign, rather than the broader effect it was having? Why choose to omit the story of the woman who called and said that after watching the ad, got a check up and discovered a 93% heart blockage? I lost someone to preventable chronic rheumatic heart disease 6 years ago. To myself and my colleagues, and as Mark Ritson et al pointed out, this wasn’t a story of going too far. This was a story of being forced to capitulate to the outraged minority and the lives that didn’t get saved in the process. I’m quite shocked that Mumbrella – the very organisation that hosted Chris Taylor – hasn’t conveyed his story evenly!
This was by far the talk of the day. Gutsy, real, honest. Well done Chris Taylor. The work you are doing is inspirational and meaningful and is clearly saving lives. That’s all that matters.
Thanks for raising the point, HWS. We have written a number of pieces about the campaign over the last few weeks, and covered many of those aspects.
The limitations of a 500 or so word news story means that we can’t cover every aspect of the perhaps 6,000 or so words spoken during a 45 minutes presentation. However, I do feel that it captures the compelling case Chris made (I was in the room myself) for the strategy behind the message.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
“We didn’t also appreciate the impact that it did have on our staff, because they are the front line, and they’re dealing with people everyday who have got heart disease. And as an organisation, whose purpose is to look after those people, they felt that it was very challenging,”
What a pathetic mea culpa.
All a bit late.
Damage to brand done.