War on Cancer is a free-to-play mobile game by Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive Solutions Poland. It’s also a fundraising initiative on behalf of Polish charity, Alivia Oncological Foundation. Here’s how that works.

As the player progresses through various levels, they have the option of in-app purchasing, that links the player with a real life patient in need through the Alivia database. If the player doesn’t identify a specific person to link their account to, then any money raised goes to Skarbonka – a fundraising pool that supports all of the patients.

The donations are in fact micropayments for additional ammunition packages. (Donations also come from ads served in the game.) The player needs to survive on the battlefield and kill as many cancer- monsters as possible. The more time he spends in the game and the more ammunition he needs, the better.

The game was developed to appeal to gaming fans. It’s dynamic and friendly with a clear interface and intuitive HUD.

Alivia Oncological Foundation (Fundacja Onkologiczna Alivia) helps guide and support cancer sufferers and their families through both oncological treatment and the complicated Polish medical system, helping to raise money for unfunded drugs and treatments.

Almost two million people in Poland have faced cancer either personally or through loved ones. 300,000 more lives could be saved each year if additional funding was available.

In Poland, due to its tax relief on charitable donations, the charity sector is highly competitive with over 9,000 registered NGO’s fighting for public funding. Many charities target women and use sympathy and pity to stand out.

The mobile game extends the Saatchi & Saatchi IS and Alivia campaign begun early in 2016 to engage a group considered the least involved in charity – young professional males instead.

Saatchi & Saatchi’s new cancer appeal: Don’t donate out of pity

Due to the huge success of the campaign, its trailer became a reality and the War on Cancer game was created.

Marta Frączek, senior creative at Saatchi & Saatchi IS, commented, “We proved that emotionally, solidarity with someone who is a fighter is stronger than feelings of pity. The campaign last year was extremely effective, earning more than five million Polish Złoty (approximately €1.2million) and revealing that young men were the biggest group involved in donating. To boost this engagement, together with leading animation studio Platige Image, we decided to create a special mobile game based on the original visual metaphor we introduced in the advert.”

The Alivia Foundation has continued to see growth in other markets and has recently been registered in the UK. Its Cancer Patient Support Programme will soon be available to patients all over Europe.

A special international edition of the game is being launched to promote the Foundation’s reach across Europe, however for the time being, the game only supports patients in Poland. The game is available to download free from the Apple app store.

Credits:

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive Solutions, Poland

Regional Creative Director: Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA, John Pallant

Creative Director: Kamil Majewski

Deputy Creative Director: Michał Desowski

Design Director: Rafał Nagiecki

Creative team: Marta Frączek, Rafał Nagiecki & Aleksandra Zalewska

Senior Copywriter: Marta Frączek

Producers: Marta Gierej, Magda Barszcz

Account Supervisor: Anna Borysewicz

Project Manager: Maria Gola

Designers: Dawid Deptuła, Aleksander Bieroński, Artur Herc, Rafał Nagiecki & Kamil Bugno

Motion Designers: Anna Caban, Bartosz Morawski, Andrzej Lasocki & Radosław Skonieczny

Production House: Platige Image

Executive Producer: Piotr Sikora

Creative Director (game): Antoni Strzałkowski

Producer: Joanna Kowalkowska

Production Support: Mateusz Kirstein

Programmers: Jakub Duracz & Mateusz Ziemann

Game Play Designers: Tomasz Szpiner, Antoni Strzałkowski & Rafał Nagiecki

Animator, 3D Generalist: Krzysztof Flisik

Music: Jan Sanejko

SFX: Genteix, Adam Rosiak

Publisher: 11 bit studios

Special thanks to: Patrycja Bruź-Soniewicka, Agata Polińska, Bartosz Poliński, Mateusz Janczewski, Marcin Celarek, Paweł Feldman, Karolina Młynek, Illusion Crafters, Dash Dot Creations, Patryk Grzeszczuk, Natalia Skonieczna, Marek Cichy, Maciek Nawrocki and the creators of the spot.

Download the game from the app store: Here

View the demonstrative video here: Here

To download the video: https://we.tl/VtI3JU9EYi