A Colonoscopy Campaign for Gilligan’s Island Watchers

The campaign also netted 44 colonoscopy appointments. Of those 44 appointments, 13 were current Good Samaritan patients and 31 were new to the hospital. Forty-three of the 44 scheduled an appointment through the call center and one booked online. Of those who called, 27 cited the radio spot as how they found out about the service. More than half of the patients were in the target group of 50–59 year olds, with 24 female and 20 male.

The campaign differentiated itself promoting a sensitive procedure in a way that didn't make the audience squirm.

"It's a service that pretty much any hospital offers—there aren't many differentiators," Stearns says. "Traditionally, you see a couple different approaches: either scary statistics with clinical messages, the patient testimonial with an ‘it saved my life' message, or some good old potty humor. Recognizing that our primary targets for this campaign were turning 50 and should be having their first colonoscopy, we wanted to have some fun with this and take them back to the pop culture of their childhood."

Good Samaritan already has a second jingle lined up, this time to the tune of "The Hustle," the disco hit from the 1970s. It target 50-plus African Americans, Roeder says.  

"We're considering creative ways to keep up the momentum and encourage a healthful approach to aging for the full spectrum of care," she says. "We are still having fun with it."

View All Comments Make a Comment

Comments are moderated. Please be patient.