With the COVID-19 patients in the spotlight, we tend to forget about other sick persons and their needs. The world might have stopped during the pandemic, but this doesn’t mean the novel coronavirus acted as a barrier against the development of other diseases. On the contrary, COVID-19 could indirectly influence the increase in the number of patients suffering from other conditions. As a result, the fight against other diseases is in danger as falling behind.

Pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular ones, diabetes, dementia, and cancer continue to weaken the “host’s’” body. Some people even lose the fight with the disease. In Romania, hundreds of terminally-ill patients were sent home without a care plan because the hospitals made room for more beds in the ICU so that the medics can take care of the COVID-19-infected people.

Hospice Casa Sperantei, the leading NGO offering palliative care, wants to raise awareness about this issue, urging people to please donate at a time when everybody’s attention is towards COVID-19. In partnership with creative agency Cheil|Centrade, the organization introduced the “See Beyond the ICU” campaign, a 360-degree photo initiative that perfectly captures the drama of people in need of palliative care.

As access to hospitals is prohibited, the Bucharest-based agency’s modeling experts recreated everything in 3D. Given the urgency of the situation, the specialists had to work double-time, remotely. But their effort paid off, the agency coming up with a series of illustrations that perfectly capture the reality. To tell the story, the team used Facebook’s popular 3D format, allowing internet users to “move” through a hospital room. The interactive photos show empty beds prepared for COVID-19 patients while cancer patients are portrayed waiting in the corridors of hospitals.

The message of the campaign is to encourage people to financially contribute and help these patients, as no one should “condemn those condemned by cancer.” Mirela Nemtanu, Executive Director of Hospice Casa Sperantei, said: “The voice of the abandoned incurable cancer patients in Romania needs to be heard. They have the right to palliative care, and brave initiatives like this one can help us attract the necessary funding to help them out.”

Speaking about the campaign, Mihai Gongu, Executive Creative Director at Cheil|Centrade, said the agency’s mission is to inspire people to take initiative, which Cheil hopes to trigger by using their talent on blending creativity with data.

Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide, backs up Gongu’s statement, by saying that “using Facebook’s 3D module to create an immersive story of this sort reflects Cheil’s unique depth and agility in the mobile space. We pride ourselves on ideas that move — this campaign shows how a new kind of creative thinking can create stories that move people to make a difference.”

During the lockdown, the NGO managed to have 3,958 patients in care and performed 5,049 consultations remotely. Their specialists made 1,059 visits at home and offered 690 psychological counseling sessions.

“This was a campaign that could not wait, as the patients themselves had no time to spare,” said the agency in a press release. Every second counts: For cancer-diagnosed patients, COVID-19-infected persons, and to other people who go through a serious condition that threatens their lives.

Credits:

Client: Hospice Casa Sperantei

Agency: Cheil|Centrade

Creative director: Mihai Gongu

Art director: Victor Trifan

Copywriter: Mihai Gongu

Agency producer: Monica Garbur

3D designer: Marijus Pudar