Africa Calling
Advertiser: Africa Health Placements (AHP)
Ad Title: Stethoscope
Agency: Boomtown Strategic Brand Agency, S. Africa
4Ps B&M Take: Innovation in advertising not only creates a strong impact, it also touches your soul. More so when your intention is to tug at heartstrings and rekindle in the good Samaritan in you. One of the most telling and effective examples of this is a first ever pure audio ad created for the stethoscope. Yes, we are referring to that familiar instrument that is seen hung around the neck of doctors across the world. Just as the doctor listens to the pace of the heart beat of a patient by touching the stethoscope to the chest, the target consumer in this ad, the doctor has to press his or her stethoscope on a package to hear a pre-recorded message delivered in the MP3 format. The audio message cannot be heard by normal human ears; it actually requires a stethoscope.
The ad has been created by an organisation called Africa Health Placements (AHP). In a very poignant manner, the ad starts with a description of how Africans are killed by various things like snake bites, malaria and cholera. There are typical images of African faces that add power to the description. The ad then goes on to say how Africa faces a desperate and potentially catastrophic shortage of doctors. Relying on numbers, the ad says how just about 1,200 doctors graduate every year in Africa. It further goes on to state that half of these graduates leave Africa for greener pastures. The ad also claims that barely 2.9% of the remaining doctors practice in Africa that faces the most severe shortage of doctors.
The audio ad is actually delivered through a direct mail campaign. AHP identified doctors across the world and launched a direct mail campaign by sending an attractive package to those doctors. Once the package is opened, the doctor finds a few words inscribed on the package that ask him to press a stethoscope to listen to the message. There is an actual visual of a doctor opening the package and getting the prompt. The visuals then show the doctor pressing his stethoscope to the place indicated. That is when he starts to hear the sounds of African drum beats followed by an appeal to his conscience The moment the audio message is over, the visual shifts to a grab of the website of AHP with the cursor prominently pointing at a section called: Apply Here.
There can be no doubt that this ad created for Africa Health Placements is one of the better public service global ads that have emerged recently. By scoring high on the novelty factor, the ad also ensures that the target consumer is intrigued enough to listen to the message and pay attention to it. Bang on target, we would say!
