#007 · 12th August 2023

Summer vibes · Excitement for a new postpartum depression drug · The art of Ma · A game of double standards · More Barbie, naturally.

August 12, 2023

Hello hello! Summer is in full swing, so my schedule is naturally all over the place. With so much going on, making time to write the newsletter this week has been tricky. I passed my three-month probation with VCCP Health 💁‍♀️ (gang you are stuck with me now!!), a sleepover with a lovely friend, work summer party, lots of solo parenting around the hubby’s shifts and some venue scouting for my 40th birthday party. And now it is Saturday… later than I’d have liked to drop the newsletter, let alone start writing. But the moment I put pressure on myself to write is the moment I take the fun out of writing.

So here we are… Saturday. The sun is shining, the coffee is brewing and Peggy Gou is playing in the background giving me nostalgic Balearic dance vibes and building my excitement for Ibiza in a few weeks’ time. This is the perfect mindset for a bit of writing.

This reminds me, that I wanted to share that I’ve started a writing course. Another thing I need to make time for and get properly stuck into. I did manage to join a live session with other writers and people that want to start putting their writing out to the public. That one session alone has been really affirming. The group took part in an exercise which put our reasons for writing into a framework. Not just for me, but also considering the end goal for you, my readers.

This is only issue number 007, and while I’ll continue experimenting with different features and formats, there is something that will not change; why this newsletter exists…

In my career in advertising and marketing, I’ve been lucky to work across multiple categories, in consumer and b2b. A huge chunk of that has been in healthcare. When I worked in a consumer agency, I was the “health girl”.  And now back in a health agency, I am the “consumer girl” (my preferred flip). I believe no one will dispute the fact that from a creative and advertising perspective, health and pharma are lagging behind. There’s a huge amount of creative opportunity in this category and there are some great examples out there already. But I am not blind to the fact that there is a large amount of red tape. It takes guts and belief to push for an idea. To get it past technical, compliance and legal. Restrictions are seen as a limitation, rather than an opportunity. If my newsletter can inspire just one person to take a leap of faith in a non-traditional ad concept for pharma, I’ve done my job.

Affirming. Lovely stuff. Having the framework from this course to keep referring to is going to be invaluable for both my writing and this newsletter moving forward. Oh, and hi to my new subscribers that have joined from the writing group. I appreciate you being here. 👋

Shall we get into it then?

When there is a win for women’s health, you can bet it gets featured in CULTURx. Following positive phase three trial results the FDA approves Biogen’s Zurzuvaetm. It’s a milestone moment - the first and only oral treatment for postpartum depression.

This is a very much-needed step forward in raising standards for postpartum care for women. Current options leave much to be desired; antidepressants taking at least 12 weeks to kick in, or a 60-hour intravenous infusion requiring hospital time.

I would have loved to have been the strategist with the launch brief for this one. When a new drug addresses an unmet need to this level, it’s not just news in the pharma community, it permeates culture. Meaning there’s a wealth of genuine commentary to spark ideas for your strategy and approach in marketing the new drug. I love this piece from CNN, it gets to the heart of the need of this news. Leading with the people angle… here’s a quote I’d pull into my strategic narrative:

“I never wanted to hurt myself. I just was existing. There were points where my kids would be screaming. I would leave them screaming in the living room. I’d go in my room, close the door, scream into a pillow, and then I’d think, ‘What are we doing this for?’”

Journalism has a way of unearthing the stark realities of an experience, something that is difficult to achieve through market research.

If you know me, you’ll know that any article that features Studio Ghibli or Hayao Miyazaki immediately has my attention. I’m a huge fan. And whilst I am not here to push my fandom on you, the storytelling technique of “Ma” discussed in this piece is great reading for anyone working on strategic storytelling, creative and film development in healthcare comms and beyond.

So what is “Ma” then?

In simple terms, it’s an intentional moment of emptiness in a film. But I just love this part of the interview, helping you to feel exactly what Ma is:

“Using Ma allows the audience to reflect, imagine and interpret what is happening – not only visually, but emotionally. Instead of using dialogue to tell the audience how a character is feeling, Ma allows the audience to simply experience what the character is feeling along with them.” 

Since reading the piece, I’ve been thinking about how I can encourage the use of Ma in healthcare films. We must tell complex stories and share intricate details of someone’s experience with their condition. For this, we often resort to dialogue, and case studies are voiced by patients. But perhaps there is room to create gaps in the narrative, and not always rely on telling.

I imagine a few of my readers have seen this already, it’s been doing the rounds…

For those of you not in the know, Billie is a body care brand for women, creating products for the bathroom cabinet that are made to work for women, not against them. Think razors that are not based on existing products for men, and challenging societal standards around body hair.

The brand's latest stunt is the launch of a new board game called No Worries If Not. And it’s already sold out. It brings with it some nostalgic Game Of Life-esq vibes combined with a big old dash of the double standards that women are still expected to live by in today’s society. More sardonic than ironic, players have to make their way to the magical land of Everyone’s Happy and No One’s Mad, trying not to get knocked off track before time is up.

In addition to supporting Billie’s purpose to alter societal expectations for women, the sold-out game also raised funds for several women-first organisations and charities the brand has partnered with.

And it’s been a minute, but let it serve as a reminder that your creative response doesn’t need to be another film execution.

I’d love to keep going, but mum duties are calling. It’s almost lunchtime here and I have hungry children to feed. So, I’ll leave you with some other interesting bits and pieces I’ve read over the past couple of weeks.

💊 Purdue, the parasite of the pharma world, returns to our screens through a new Netflix series – Painkiller. Expect I’ll be writing more about this in the coming weeks, once I’ve binged my way through it. Just in time for my week off work.

🎯 Loved this infographic share from Sarah Robb on Kantars 2023 BrandZ report… personal care struggling and notable absence from pharma and medtech.

🌍 Really enjoyed this read about Marc Meachem’s (of ViiV) journey to becoming a cultural engagement champion.

🌮 Fed up with Barbie? Thought not! Zocdoc has jumped on the bandwagon, inspired by Barbie’s OB-GYN appointment at the end of the movie. The online medical platform is donating $25 for every OB-GYN appointment booked on their site through to 21st August.

Ok, now the kids are really hungry. Must dash. But before I do, if you haven’t already subscribed, remember to sign up at the link below. And if you have, please share with a friend or colleague that might like CULTURx too!

Until next time. ✌️

Thank you for reading CULTURx. This post is public so feel free to share it.