Company: Havas Health & You
Company Description: Havas Health & You is a health network focused on promoting healthy living across the health ecosystem. At Havas Health & You, we partner with health brands who are as focused on uplifting the human spirit as they are on physically treating the human body. We build brands and businesses that inspire us to feel better. To be better. We focus collectively on our health, ourselves, each other.
Nomination Category: Communications & Marketing Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Marketing Campaign of the Year - Healthcare - Disease Education & Awareness
 Nomination Title: ParkinSex Campaign Spearheaded by Allison Ceraso, President, Chief Creative Officer
- Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
2/14/23
- Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 234 words used.
Our team truly embraced the notion of human-centered design through empathy, learning from diverse perspectives, recognizing exclusion, and finding ways to solve for it. ParkinSex was also developed from layers of insight into the disease and the community. We challenged our control of product creation to allow the community to co-design with us, which enhanced the overall product design and offering.
Havas and the APDA co-created Parkinsex with the community, including clinical sexologist Dr. Sheila Silver. Couples impacted by Parkinson’s were a part of the process from ideation to execution, informing content, additions, changes, and more.
Additionally, we worked with Chilean animator and illustrator Xaviera Lopez, who uses her art to explore sexuality and intimacy. We ensured that all depictions of people were agnostic of age, race, gender, and sexual orientation to make it a truly inclusive communication. We also made sure the kit was accessible in design; pull-tabs to lift all kit items, page-turn tabs for the booklet, and even a closed-captioned online version of the book that anyone can access for free.
From there, ParkinSex was born. The kit includes a booklet that guides partners through different intimacy exercises using the included items. For example, a feather stimulates touch; a scented candle provides aromatherapy for those with Parkinson’s who can still smell; massage oil and smooth river stones offer other forms of physical sensation; and a blindfold helps reduce inhibitions and self-consciousness.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 45 words used.
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated campaign or program - its genesis,development, planning, commission, and performance to date - OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions, provide them in the appropriate spaces below:
Written answers.
- Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 223 words used.
At Cannes 2022, President & Chief Creative Officer of Havas Health Plus, Allison Ceraso, spoke on the importance of inclusivity to advance human-centered design, a concept fueled by an empathy-first approach.
Human-centered design is the belief that designing for the widest range of people creates better designs and benefits for everyone, creating a more inclusive and overall better world for us all.
"The brands we work on, the work we do, has real impact on people's lives," shared Ceraso. "In the space of health and pharma, our end user doesn't always want to be using our products; they must, for the sake of their health. Building meaningful relationships with customers might be the hardest thing to do in advertising, but when we do it, we change lives and help people be better, and ultimately, live better."
Fast forward to April 2023, Ceraso and her team partnered with the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) to put human-centered design into practice by launching the ParkinSex Booklet & Kit in observance of Parkinson’s Awareness Month.
Parkinson’s disease affects more than ten million people worldwide and the prevalence of sexual dysfunction is disproportionately high in patients with this condition. To help provide nonclinical strategies for people living with Parkinson’s, the ParkinSex Booklet & Kit aims to help patients and their partners improve their sexual wellness.
- Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of July 2021. Even if your initiative started before July 2021, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2021 250 words):
Total 110 words used.
The original pilot of 65 kits, which were released on Valentine’s Day, were sold out within 24 hours. Since then, over 1,000 people have signed up for the waitlist. The APDA is working with vendors to produce another run of kits with hopes to continue to make more after that.
The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, with so many sharing their appreciation for finally being seen instead of overlooked or marginalized. In addition to qualitative feedback, the media response was also positive. The campaign was featured in Parkinson’s Publications, consumer publications, podcasts, and even recognized by the design community for elevating the conversation around sexual wellness.
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