Even since the advertising industry decided that it had a duty to promote more than stuff we buy, and awards programs began rewarding the ideas it came with to promote causes, an explosion of these ideas. It is remarkable when any agency comes up with one with something different about it.
CHE Proximity has, for Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation (SCHF). It’s a story built around a product. The product is a pasta sauce called Mum’s Sause. The story is about a girl in hospital, Ali, who writes a note about missing her mum’s pasta past sauce. It ends up being spread in social media, becomes an internet sensation and a symbol that unites brands, celebrities and the community to cure homesickness. The fictional story represents the hundreds of thousands of kids in Australian hospitals every year.
It is hoped that life will imitate art with all of Australia helping spread the message about curing homesickness. Mum’s Sause has been made by Coles and is available for purchase with fund going to the Foundation.
To help that to happen, CHE Proximity and SCHF have attracted A-list celebrities and brands like Coles, The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand, Assembly Label, Pasta Pantry, NRL, and eBay to the campaign to help children’s hospitals from across Australia raise funds in real life. Money raised will fund equipment, care and research to get kids home from hospital sooner.
The film features Australian celebrity cameos from Rose Byrne, Lee Lin Chin, Hamish Blake, G Flip, Mia Freedman and news presenters from Channel 9 and 10. Other celebrities who have also joined the mission include Nicole Kidman and NRL sports teams.
Nicola Stokes, chief executive officer, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation, commented, “We know that kids get homesick when they are in hospital, but homesickness isn’t always recognised as a serious complication or illness, and this is the first time it has been the focus of a fundraising campaign to address it.
“We developed the idea because our Foundation was exploring how we could make more of a difference to the emotional wellbeing of sick kids, as well as raising funds for vital equipment, ground-breaking research and excellent clinical care. When I shared our idea with colleagues at other hospital foundations across Australia, they wanted to be involved and they immediately offered to collaborate with us to deliver national impact for every child and every community.”
In its release, CHE Proximity explained, “Studies show that severe homesickness symptoms actually worsen in children the longer they are away from home. The cure for homesickness is home. 50% of hospitalised children suffer from moderate to severe levels of homesickness. By shifting the focus from the medical condition to addressing homesickness (emotional wellbeing), it provides a single-minded approach to fundraising that can unite all hospitals to unlock new donations. No matter the illness, injury and ailment these kids come in with, homesickness is something they all share. If Australia can rally together and cure it, the hospitals are well on the way to beating any sickness, and getting kids home where they belong.”
David Halter, chief strategy officer at CHE Proximity, added, “This project started two years ago with a request from Nicola and the board to help increase donations.
“During our hospital visits, we noticed a simple insight: Kids who are in hospital for a particular sickness also have another sickness that Australians are currently unaware of – homesickness.”
Ant White, chief creative officer at CHE Proximity, stated, “Mum’s Sause is designed to not only be part of culture but inject itself into it. We are purposely blurring the line between reality and fiction. Apart from Ali and her family, who are based on the stories of millions of Aussie families, everything in the film is real – Coles made Mum’s Sause, Assembly Label printed tees, Disney are hosting special screenings, Pasta Pantry are donating parts of their menu, eBay are contributing in a big way too. These are just some of the ways people can become part of the story. Even the influencers, newsreaders and journalists in the film will be posting, sharing and airing content today mirroring the story.
“People want to be part of good stories today. It’s a form of social currency. We wanted to create a movement that allowed people to join in, and make a real difference, not just a campaign that pulls at the heartstrings. But we’re sure it will do that too.”
Corporate Partners
- Coles’ Mum’s Sause has a Health Star Rating of 4, with no added sugar and no artificial colours. Jars of Coles Mum’s Sause are being stocked in more than 800 stores across Australia, 50 cents from every jar goes to Curing Homesickness.
- Disney’s Marvel Studios, The Avengers Infinity War and Endgame back-to-back sessions will be held across Australia on Sat Aug 3 at select Event and Village cinemas. 100% of ticket sales will be donated to the hospitals.
Locations include:
● NSW: Event Cinemas George Street
● QLD: Event Cinemas Chermside
● SA: Event Cinemas Marion
● WA: Event Cinemas Innaloo
● VIC: Village Cinemas Jam Factory
- Assembly Label has released an exclusive and limited-edition range of Homesick t-shirts for men, women and children available in-store and online, with all proceeds going towards Curing Homesickness.
- Pasta Pantry’s Sydney stores are raising awareness and donating funds from the sale of their flagship pasta and lasagne dishes in support of the Curing Homesickness initiative.
Mum’s Sause is supported by PR, donated TV, cinema, outdoor, and digital all reminding Australians how kids in hospital are also homesick.
CHE Proximity worked with all brands and media partners including Network Nine, Network Seven, ARN, Nova, MCN, Verizon, NewsCorp, oOh!, QMS and JCDecaux, to secure donated media space. Other elements of the launch include 30-second and 15-second cut downs of the campaign film and a social, PR and influencer campaign.
Donations
Money raised will help fund critical medical equipment and technology, research, support programs to distract and entertain kids in hospital, enhance hospital wards and rooms and more. It will also be used to help cure homesickness in kids in hospital by creating a home-like environment within hospitals, developing services to connect kids to home or support programs to distract, entertain and engage kids during their stay.
Hospitals
Children’s hospital charities across Australia which have joined the movement are:
● ACT: Canberra Hospital Foundation for the Centenary Hospital for Women & Children Hospital
● NSW: Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
● QLD: The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation
● SA + NT: Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation
● TAS: Royal Hobart Hospital
● VIC: Monash Health Foundation for Monash Children’s Hospital
● WA: Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation
Get involved and donate online here.
Credits:
Agency: CHE Proximity
Chief Strategy Officer: David Halter
Client Partner: Mariana Rice
Account Executive: Albert Olsen
Chief Creative Officer: Ant White
Executive Creative Director: Glen Dickson
Creative Directors: Sam Dickson & Cameron Bell
Director, Strategic Production: Holly Alexander
Head of Design: Darren Cole
Senior Designer: Vanessa Saporito
Designer: Callum McGregor
Director – PR: Georgia Wright
Senior Account Director – PR: Judy Chung
Senior Account Manager – PR: Courtney Kovacevic
Investment Manager: Elizabeth Lonsdale
Head of Editorial & Social: Anna Horan
Social Lead: Sophie Doyle
Senior Social Creative: Annisah Ibrahim
Social Creative: Henry Clarke
Head of Print Production: Shayne Simpson
Production Manager: Avery Clark
Digital Producer: Katrina Ansford
Production Company: Revolver/Will O’Rourke
Directing Collective: The Glue Society
Director: Pete Baker
Managing Director & Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie
Executive Producer: Pip Smart
Executive Producer & Producer: Jasmin Helliar
Producers: Serena Paull & Ian Iveson
Director of Photography: Geoffrey Simpson
2nd Unit DOP: Jordan Maddocks
Production Designer: Nicki Gardner
Casting: Citizen Jane Casting
Editing: The Glue Society
Grade & Online: Heckler
Design & Animation: Heckler
Music: Anton @ Trailer Media
Sound: Song Zu
Client: Sydney Children’s Hospital
Chief Executive Officer: Nicola Stokes
General Manager of Fundraising: Mark Stewart
Head of Health Promotion: Tanya Sarina
Director of Development: Susan Wynne
Head Of Partnerships: Lisa Woolfjones
