The 2009 Jay Chiat Awards for Strategic Excellence Winners

Social Strategy—Silver:
M&C Saatchi, London
"How Open Source Marketing Is Helping Us Change4Life"

Consider the power of advertising.

Now compare it to the temptation of chocolate.

Or the lure of a comfy sofa and a DVD.

Or the ubiquity of chips, sweets or sugary drinks.

Or little things you take for granted, like frying pans, cars or ready-prepared foods.

Or the expedience of saying "yes" to the kids, because life's too short to argue.

These are just some of the many causes of "the lifestyle epidemic;" obesity.

Pitted against these forces, what hope has advertising?

Figuring anything imposed, draconian or didactic would be soundly ignored, we developed a piece of "open source marketing:" the Change4Life movement.

We created a common enemy—modern life.

We found a credible consequence—fat lurking in the body.

We established a friendly-imperative tone—childlike, collective, constructive.

We developed a phased messaging framework.

We devised a distinctive verbal and visual vocabulary.

And we gave it all away.

We galvanised other parties to tailor our property into their own tools, incentives and
programs; things that stand a chance of overcoming lethargy, inertia and short-termism, and
prompting our obesogenic nation to change.

Forget advertising. This case is about creating an enabling asset.

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