An Old Fashioned Ad About Beards and Vaccines

One may think that advertising vaccines would be a rather dry subject matter.

One would be wrong.

Wyoming is a state that has a larger population of unvaccinated individuals than most of its peers in the US, so naturally the state health department sought out ways to connect with those people. They chose to get help from Sukle Advertising and Design Denver to find a message that would reach Wyomingites.

In the ad “A Hairy Time” we find a group of fellows with remarkable beards attending a funeral of one of their friends. A young boy who has not yet come into his own beard asks how the man died and is told that “he shaved”. It is at this moment that the ad finally reveals itself to be promoting vaccines with a simple line of text appearing on the screen: “Before the tetanus vaccine, a simple nick could kill.”

It is important that this ad be clever in its delivery method due to its targeted audience being individuals who might not ordinarily be receptive to its message. By concealing the true nature of the ad until it has revealed the consequences, it ensures that you receive the surprisingly disarming message before you have a chance to dismiss it.