MANILA – To talk about something unseen, Dentsu Philippines used radio, a fitting medium that employs the power of words and engages the listener’s imagination.
The radio ads were created as part of a campaign for the Philippine Psychiatric Association, which is building support for what will become the country’s first ever Mental Health Act. The bill, which has been pending as of December last year, was created “to incorporate and institutionalize comprehensive mental health services into the national health system of the Philippines.”
The campaign delivers two messages: one in five suffer from mental health problems and mental suffering is unseen. Dentsu produced radio and online materials to show this, and lead people to sign the online petition Mhactnow.org.
The radio ads are quiet in comparison to the usual that are filled with music and sound effects. Instead, full attention is given to the scripts, which are brought to life by the performers. “We actually consider radio to be a visual medium, too. Just so happens that the visuals are created in the listeners’ heads,” said senior copywriter Jacque Rufener, who wrote the script with executive creative director Rey Tiempo.
According to Rufener, English was used for all of the materials because of the nature of the scripts. “Despite Filipino being the national language, when it comes to medical terms, English is more frequently heard and used when using medical jargon. The same applies to using numbers and statistics,” she said.
Directed by radio guru Tony Hertz, the radio ads ‘Cancer’ and ‘Heart Attack’, focus on the fact that mental health sufferers experience similar symptoms as those with physical health problems. However, they do not get the same attention, as their suffering cannot be seen. Also directed by Hertz, ‘Numbers’ highlights the statistic that one in five are suffering from mental health problems.
Directed by Raffy Francisco, the two online films ‘Inside’ and ‘Numbers’ deliver the same messages, and also lead to the petition, which as of posting time has 5,800 supporters.
The materials were produced with Loudbox, 88Storey, and Central Digital Lab.
