TV Campaign Features Unscripted Docs

There are no lines to memorize and no cue cards to read for Akron Children's Hospital's recent commercials. Actors are not on camera this time.

The new stars of the hospital's television campaign are real physicians who provide unscripted commentary on the care they provide. Humanism and trust the two main messages Akron leaders hope to build through the campaign.

The goal is to reach the target audience of mothers with children under 18, and differentiate Akron from widely known competitors such as Cleveland Clinic. The unscripted physicians, such as Michael Forbes, MD, ACH director of critical care research, speak openly in a conversational tone.

"Often I'm simply a witness to a miracle. When kids who are, uh, terribly ill, uh get better," Forbes says. "Most of the patients we take care of, enter, frankly, into the valley of the shadow of death. And then they walk out. And that's awesome."

The fourteen 30-second spots will appear via broadcast during prime time TV shows such as American Idol, Brother's & Sisters, House, and Gray's Anatomy. Marcus Thomas LLC was the integrated marketing communications agency facilitating the campaign. Akron Children's Hospital is one of the largest pediatric care providers in Northeast Ohio.

To watch one of the campaign commercial spots, click here.