#013 · 05 November 2023

Hello hello!

How is everyone?

I want to kick off by making a TV recommendation. The husband and I have been watching the Korean show Moving (Hulu US, Disney+ Internationally). It’s about superpowered humans that live undercover and are exploited by the government. It’s bloody excellent.

The pace of the storytelling is like nothing you get from Western TV today. It’s so intricate, a slower pace, but not dull by any means. You get to experience the story through the eyes of different characters and their interactions with one another. There is so much time spent on character development, that as a viewer you can’t help but be more emotionally invested… I think marketers could learn a trick or two about storytelling from K-Dramas!

This is my last issue of CULTURx before turning 40! Who knows what additional wisdom I’ll have to share in the next one? But until then, let's just jump into this issue.

I’m sure many of you have seen one (if not all three) of these beautifully provocative films from Girl Vs Cancer. They’ve been doing the rounds on my LinkedIn and Instagram for the past couple of weeks. But if you haven’t, watch below:

I’ve been a follower of Lauren Mahon, the woman behind Girl Vs Cancer for some time now. Her charity and campaigns have always had a more provocative and real representation of women who have faced cancer. The charity doesn’t portray women as victims of their cancer, or the cliched (and lazy) ‘warrior’ labelling that many patient groups get. To them, they are women. Women who happen to have, or have had cancer. Having friends that have gone through this, having my own scare (complete with scar and misshapen boob, thanks benign lump), sometimes that’s all you can ask of the organisations that are there to support you.

This new campaign is the culmination of years of work, sticking to a clear (and unique) vision for a cancer charity by Lauren. One that starts with women, their unfiltered stories, and experiences of life with and after cancer.

Then, it was brought to life through a bold creative direction and brand refresh by Phantom.

Then, finally made immensely extra human through this new work by BBH London, Academy Films and Build Hollywood (don’t get me started on that stunning OOH piece).

Here's the bottom line: if you want to make work that makes people think “fuck me that’s powerful” … ditch the old industry cliches that label patients as warriors and survivors. Ditch the statistics that generalise them under the umbrella of feeling stigmatised, reduced quality of life, burden, etc. And start looking at them as individuals. One person’s story will be different from another’s. And that’s fine. Because behind one person’s story is something powerful. Ask them one more question, dive a little deeper, and find the real human experience of the people your healthcare brand serves.

Oh, I was excited to see this one. Dove has launched a new campaign encouraging body positivity and inclusion for young girls, aged 11 to 17. And they’ve got the perfect partner to help achieve it, Nike.

According to the campaign, 45% of teenage girls are quitting sports with body dissatisfaction being the number one reason why. Together Dove and Nike have created Body Confident Sport, a new evidence-based program to boost girls’ body confidence and help them thrive in sport.

The partnership is a brilliant example of bringing your brand's mission to life through non-commercial activities. Body Confident Sport is the perfect amalgamation of Dove and Nike’s missions: building positive self-esteem and inspiring every athlete* in the world (*if you have a body, you are an athlete.)

A new exhibit has opened at the Science Museum in London and I’m hoping to get along in the next couple of months (it’s on until early May 2024). It looks so cool and explores how profoundly music affects our lives.

And whilst the interactive and immersive elements of the exhibit look fun, I’m also excited by the science bit. Including how scientists and innovators are using music to help improve health and wellbeing, like the MediMusic App. The app is being trialled in UK hospitals and allows HCPs to dispense music as medicine. The app uses AI and live patient data to create 20-minute playlists of tracks identified for their calming effects.

A partnership between the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Place2Be (the children’s mental health charity) will take visitors on an emotional musical journey that provides benefits to children’s emotional literacy. You can also experience ‘subpac’, a vibrating vest that allows deaf people to feel the beat of music.

Anyways, there’s literally so much more to explore, but I’ll leave that for my visit. I’m sure this exhibition will have great learnings for the role of music in health. I’m super curious, and you should be curious too!

#4 The latest pharma drama

Is Netflix’s Pain Hustlers next on your watch list? It’s certainly on mine. This new movie follows the story of a sales exec and an ambitious recruit at a fictional pharma company. The pair cut corners (legal ones) and use aggressive sales tactics to profit from a highly addictive drug. The theme of greed and opioids might sound familiar. But Purdue Pharma this is not.

Whilst the movie features a fictional drug and pharmaceutical company, the content is rooted in the true events involving start-up drug company Insys Pharmaceuticals and its product, Subsys.

I’m a bit obsessed with how these real and shocking stories are showing up in culture right now. What’s more intriguing concerning is how recent some of these events are. It constantly prompts me to reflect on my role and purpose working in healthcare and pharma. Something which is essential. We need to be aware of the controversies in the industry and keep ourselves accountable. Allow yourself to have the ‘ick feeling’ when something like a titration brief lands on your desk… and always know that this is not the answer to that brief:

And here are a few more bits and pieces to round up the week… not all health, but all inspiring.

💁‍♂️ If you haven’t seen it, you must have been hiding under a rock! Grab a cuppa and enjoy this takedown of McKinsey by John Oliver – stick around for the spoof recruitment video!

🎠 I got a bit lost scrolling through the wonder of this Tumblr dedicated to Japanese play park equipment. The robot slide 😍

🎶 Ozempic continues to inject itself into culture, listen carefully to this top-selling track, from K-pop’s golden boy Jungkook in collaboration with The Kid LAROI and Central Cee.

Anyways, I’m gonna wrap this up. We’re heading out to see the fireworks this evening, so I need to finish the family prep for the week ahead.

Remember, if you’ve been inspired by anything here today, please pass it on to a friend or colleague. And if you haven’t already subscribed, join the many that already have and receive CULTURx straight to the inbox.

Until next time ✌️

EML