The Birth of SickKids’ VS campaign

One simple idea forever changed the face of charity: Sickness doesn’t mean weakness.To meet the aggressive fundraising goals of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, creative agency Cossette decided to stop talking like a charity brand and start acting like a performance brand. It showed the world what it looks like when sick fights back.Launched in 2016, SickKids’ VS brand had the ambitious target of raising $1.5 billion – making it the largest fundraiser in Canadian health care history. By March of 2023, that $1.5-billion target had been met. The campaign was a big risk with the bold ‘VS’ concept, and there was a media ‘backlash’, but that drew more supporters out of the woodwork.The risk paid off, and the VS brand strategy became an instantly recognisable hit, with celebrities taking part (Cold Play’s ‘Fix You’ was donated for 30-second spots), and people got VS tattoos.In this episode, we take a look back at where it all began. The idea, the origin story, the objective and the risk.