How Honor swept awards with an authentic representation of ALS

Campaign Overview

We created a mass TVC campaign with Honor that passed the microphone to people with ALS. Honor the Challenger was a clarion call for humanity to innovate for all, featuring ALS Challengers, Associations, and technology experts.

Creative Strategy

Olympians. They’re the gods among us. A reason to believe that humanity can achieve what we believe is the impossible. And while the Olympics is built around incredible feats of human mobility, it is really the willpower and dedication of athletes that captures our hearts. So, what if we could show everyday viewers the same willpower that thrives within the minds of people with ALS?

Our campaign featured the life of Dutch entrepreneur, Bernard Muller. In 2010, his world came to a standstill when he received a devastating diagnosis of ALS. Entrepreneur through and through, it was in Bernard’s personality to reclaim his power, with innovation. Today, he has embraced groundbreaking eye-tracking technology to create digital art, enabled by AI technology, and supporting multiple projects to find a cure.

Campaign Execution

Using the TVC as our centerpiece, we showcased Bernard living the technology story, taking ideas from his mind, onto canvases, and unveiling a new art piece which scaled to wider social momentum. We also showed how people with disabilities are the true shapers of multi-modal tech – and how the impact via brands, is phenomenal.

Our strategy involved breaking down how we would tell a story about HONOR as an honest enabler, while doing justice to the stories of ALS Challengers. This involved a number of steps in which we assessed how a multitude of BBC channels and platforms could help us challenge storytelling. This strategy aligned with HONOR's goals and objectives by wholeheartedly embracing the nuanced meaning of what it means to be a "Challenger," raising awareness about people with ALS and their innovations, as well as showcasing HONOR's technology.

Breaking down the approach, there were a number of elements to keep in mind to bring nuance and depth into this creative idea. To give a full portrayal of Bernard that would showcase the workings of his mind, instead of allowing him to be defined by his diagnosis:

• We brought Bernard’s cheeky personality traits through, as hero, creative genius, and Challenge showcasing his entrepreneurial side.
• We showed the home of Bernard as one that is lived in, with a warm, support system of the people in his life, not as invisible hands, but as an active support system to Bernard.
• We conveyed a sense of scale by showcasing multimodal technology around the world by featuring ALS Challenger Zhang Wei in China.
• We incorporated eye-tracking and text-to-voice cloning technology to show how the little things can change lives, with technology expert Ben Wood simplifying multimodal tech advancements.
• We showed how people with ALS and disabilities are the true shapers of multi-modal tech, with Limore Noach of ALS Stichting Nederlands – and how the impact via brands who innovate for and within the space, is phenomenal.
• Our video culminated with an emotional journey when Bernard unveiled a new campaign art piece of a sportswoman in complete stillness and silence before her race, a moment Bernard relates to strongly.

Social Media Campaign

With our social media campaign, we devised ways to communicate that would go beyond platform-fit campaign cutdowns. We instead utilized social media as mediums to offer more detail on how multimodal technologies can enable the lives of people with ALS. We saw it as a way to create an emotional journey and understanding of HONOR’s mission to use intelligent design to create a world for everyone.

We created two custom social media assets:

• The first was a visual simulation of eye-tracking technology, inspired by "endless zoom" social media videos in which one zooms continuously into elements of an art piece to unveil detail. We envisioned the social media user's eyes as cursors, similar to how eye-tracking technology works.
• The second was a multi-image quote post that describes the feeling of ALS. It made Bernard’s story immediately accessible to the masses.

Results

The campaign succeeded significantly at engaging audiences in just 41 days of it running, achieving one of the most coveted hallmarks of brand awareness: trust.

The video’s creative effectiveness was remarkable, translating to tangible impact for Honor, tested by BBC StoryWorks’ award-winning Science of Engagement study.

Social engagement doubled targets, showing our unique approach to assets that simulated the experience of using eye-tracking technology were intriguing. HONOR’s #HONORtheChallenger UGC challenge, which we supported, garnered over 4,000 organic posts.

These engagement-centric metrics are a deep mark of the success of BBC StoryWorks’ distinctive emotional storytelling style.

The most meaningful result of our campaign is what it meant to our contributor, Bernard Muller.

“In this project, I am honored to serve as the poster boy. This endeavor is not just about raising awareness but also about showcasing the resilience and creativity that can thrive despite adversity,” said Muller.