Who: ParticipACTION with Zulu Alpha Kilo for creative and strategy; Partners Film for production; Rooster Post and Fort York VFX for post production; Eggplant Music + Sound for audio; The French Shop for French language adaption; M&K Media for media.
What: ‘Fall In With An Active Crowd,’ a national campaign using PSA tropes to encourage people to boost their health through exercise.
What: ‘Fall In With An Active Crowd,’ a national campaign using PSA tropes to encourage people to boost their health through exercise.
When & Where: The campaign will run until March 2024 across both broadcast and connected TV, as well as on YouTube and Meta.
Why: Recent research by ParticipACTION found that the majority of people underestimate how many of those around them are getting enough physical activity. The new campaign aims to correct this misperception by showing just how much activity is going on all around them.
“Building on previous education campaigns that focused on increasing awareness of the benefits of physical activity, ‘Fall In With An Active Crowd’ aims to shift social norms related to physical activity," said ParticipACTION’s senior director of marketing and communications, Rebecca Jones, in a release.
How: The launch spot is filmed in the style of PSAs, satirically aligning physical fitness with something "bad" and humorously portraying those pursuing an active lifestyle as people to be avoided. The video features a tearful woman telling the camera how her husband hasn’t been the same ever since he joined the "Mall Walkers."
Cut to slow-motion footage of the woman’s husband strolling through the mall with his crew in a tracksuit and dumbbells in his hands. “He’s doing 8,000 steps a day," says the concerned woman. "I think he might even be doing stairs. I’m just worried my kids will be next.”
The social videos portray similar characters, such as a person who is troubled by their partner becoming “one of those Pilates people” or a friend being “recruited by yogis”. The activities depicted are intentionally un-intimidating, pulling on additional insight that suggests people avoid physical activity because it looks hard (and not fun).
And we quote: "We wanted to bring a fresh approach to communication around physical activity for ParticipACTION. We had an opportunity to bring more meaning to the lives of Canadians by injecting humor and opening up the aperture for what physical activity can look like for Canadians.” — Jenny Glover, chief creative officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo
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