Creative industry-driven myth busting @TheFactsination campaign launches via Hardhat

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Resounding support from the creative industry behind the ‘fight fear with facts’ pro-vaccination @TheFactsination initiative has now led to media organisations generously donating millions of dollars of advertising inventory to support the campaign.

 

A TV campaign will go to air this week, supported by outdoor, radio and digital advertising. An extension of the hugely successful @TheFactsination instagram account, the campaign uses humour to debunk myths about the potential risk associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and to encourage all Australians to get vaccinated, and as soon as possible (subject to advice from their GPs).

Says Dan Monheit, @TheFactsination spokesperson, and co-founder of creative agency Hardhat: ”The success of the @TheFactsination campaign to date has exceeded our wildest hopes. Within a week, and without a cent of paid spend, the campaign reached more than a million people on Instagram alone, and millions more across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

“It’s received support from leading health experts including Dr Norman Swan, from high profile Instagrammers like Zoe Foster Blake and Samantha Wills, and received saturation media coverage across Australia, and internationally.

“And now, thanks to brilliant work from WPP’s Media Investment arm GroupM to secure millions of dollars of inventory – donated by leading media players to support @TheFactsination – we’re launching this week a multi-faceted advertising campaign that will help spread the message even further.”


Says Rose Herceg @TheFactsination supporter and WPP AUNZ chief strategy officer: “As an industry, there are times we compete and times we come together and speak with one voice. This issue is too important. GroupM is committed to playing its role in getting our country and our economy moving again. The only way this happens is with a vaccinated Australia. The best and most tangible way we can help is working with our media partners to support this effort. This is the power of our WPP Group at its finest.”

@TheFactsination initiative created and funded by Hardhat, in conjunction with Good One Creative, is a creative collective of ideas to address fears and hesitancy towards the AstraZeneca vaccine. It has been built around an Instagram account showcasing the A to Z of ways people are more likely to die than getting an AZ jab, putting the risk into proper perspective.

Social media posts confirmed that the campaign has started shifting behaviour.

“I heard about this page through my children, 18 and 21, who have booked their vaccinations. I think it made a huge difference in their confidence…” said one post on Instagram.

Another said: “A girl in my team in her 20’s got the Astra this week … she quoted the campaign saying, there’s literally an A-Z of things that are more likely to kill you. It is working!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻”

The @TheFactsination initiative supports the open letter by an alliance of prominent health experts urging Australians to get jabbed with AstraZeneca as soon as possible. The health experts also aimed to debunk myths, confirming: we have a one in a million chance of dying from the AZ jab, and that the AZ and Pfizer vaccines have a similar profile in preventing severe disease from the Covid-19 Delta variant.

Founding industry supporters include Dan Monheit, Rose Herceg, Jules Lund, Henry Innis, Kieran Moore, Aden Hepburn, Alex Hayes and Chris Savage.

Original concept and campaign funding:
Hardhat

Media Partners providing free media inventory;
Seven, Nine, Ten, Foxtel, Ooh Media, JC Decaux, QMS, Val Morgan, Shopper Media, Nova, Verizon, Southern Cross Austereo, InMobi, News.com.au, Snapchat

Production Partners providing discounted and pro-bono services:
Animation – Dirty Puppet & Zane Flynn
Sound Studio – Front of House
Illustrations – Good One CREATIVE
Music composition – Charlie Howcroft
Despatch – Adstream
Captioning – The SubStation Media Services