Yesterday, the International Child Cancer Month started with a digital campaign by code d’azur and Ocean Outdoor for the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht. With this national public campaign, ‘Het Máxima’ draws attention to the need to further improve the treatment and quality of life of children with cancer in the Netherlands. Children who are being treated at the Máxima play the leading role in this, in which their fantasy about the treatment is magically shaped.
Start collaboration
Ocean Outdoor and the Princess Máxima are simultaneously entering into a 3-year partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to generate more awareness for the mission of the Princess Máxima Center.
For the International Children’s Cancer Month campaign, the Zandtovenaar (Gert van der Vijver, known for children’s television programs) was approached to literally bring to life the fantasy names that children often give to medication. The digital campaign will be visible via digital out-of-home (from Ocean), social media and various online resources. Part of this is a mobile tool with which your own digital sand drawing can be made, which can then be shared for extra social awareness. Well-known ambassadors will also give the campaign more publicity.
Developed with those directly involved
One of the children in the campaign, Yuna (15) – the others are Saar (4), Quinn (7) and Anne (11) – is the daughter of Kim Nieuwenhuijs-Griffioen, Creative Director at code d’azur. Both the concept and the execution were developed in consultation with her. The fantasy names that children come up with help to make the radical treatments open to discussion. The mobile tool allows them to use their imaginations to visualize what they call the treatment.
Ocean Outdoor asked Kim to participate in the campaign, without being aware that her daughter has been under treatment at the Princess Máxima Center for 4 years: ‘I was really surprised that Marlies (Smits, Head Of Marketing Ocean Outdoor Netherlands) asked my creative help to develop a concept for the month of children’s cancer. Coincidence doesn’t exist, right?
I am extremely grateful that I was allowed to use my expertise as a creative for this fantastic hospital, where I am unfortunately at home. Not an invented campaign, but literally a concept that we were able to implement based on my own experience.’
(Read more below the campaign image with Yuna below.)