2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

First Response was tanking. Month-over-month, the brand experienced a 20% decline in volume and a 5.4 point drop in shares.

For women trying — and struggling — to conceive, their nuanced and real experiences are rarely reflected in advertising. Historically, pregnancy ads have almost exclusively focused on the anticipation, joy, and relief that come with a positive result, often overlooking the emotional and psychological journey of those who face difficulties conceiving.

Because First Response’s advertising lived in this category trope, it wasn’t breaking through with the audience, and the brand was in free fall. First Response was losing 5.4 share points month-over-month.

When you've experienced struggles with fertility and loss, the world becomes an endless stream of triggers. From coworkers announcing pregnancies, to strangers on the street, to social media launches, or simply friends and family trying to support. The emotion is all-consuming.

Let’s talk about it.

Let's show how those struggling have to smile through the pain and ask the world to have a little
more compassion.

In May 2024, First Response launched “Put on a Smile”. A campaign that marked a bold shift in the brand’s messaging and the broader world of pregnancy test advertising. Moving away from the typical joyous narrative, this campaign courageously addressed the rarely discussed real-life struggles encountered by many womxn trying-to-conceive (TTC).

"Put on a Smile” wasn’t just another campaign — it was a heartfelt acknowledgment of the many challenges women trying and struggling to conceive often endure — crafted from real conversations with those TTC, it authentically depicts a day in the life of a woman dealing with a negative test result and the moments afterwards that she forces herself to smile through.

Through partnerships with a national fertility awareness organization and a fertility mindset coach, First Response expanded its support beyond the campaign. This holistic approach was anchored by a dedicated website offering resources and guidance, turning the campaign into a supportive platform for those facing fertility challenges.

The client’s inclination was to run US adaptation work that used the same tired insight that was leading to brand decline. Strategic Planning stepped in and challenged the client. Planning then did qualitative interviews with a dozen Canadian women who unveiled the insight around their struggle and the omnipresence of triggers.

They built a strategy that was tested against the US strategy and won. Briefed in creative and stewarded the creative through testing again to beat the US work.

The campaign has been a game-changer for the brand.

It delivered an increase of 9.4 in Standard Ad Recall, 14.8 in Unaided Brand Awareness, and 5.7 in Familiarity, outperforming the industry benchmarks of 3.8, 1.2, and 0.5, respectively.

The campaign has totally stemmed the decline, and as their media weight is increasing, they’re starting to see a small gain in sales.

Credits

Client: Church & Dwight Canada
General Manager, Canada: Gregory Major
Head of Marketing: Michael Ng
Marketing Director, OTC & Women’s Health: Sofia Pailhe
Marketing Manager: Deniz Maden
Assistant Marketing Manager: Abeera Khan

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors Canada
Head of Creative: Glen D’Souza
ACD Copywriter: Robin Porter
Senior Art Director: Tayler-Lee Resar-Teese
Art Director: Alexandra McGuirk-Penedo
Producer: Kasia Bismor
Head of Business Partnerships: Tyler Kawa
Group Account Lead: Madeleine Wildi
Client Managers: Leah Chayer & Sophie Travaglini
Head of Strategy: Andrew Carty
Strategist: Tiyana Hunter
Executive Director of Content: David Quach
Production Artist: Dee Flores
Creative Coordinator: Kaila Shatosky

Production
Production Company: Undivided Creative
Executive Producer: Scott Houghton
Director: Nikki Ormerod
Line Producer: Christa Lindsay
Assistant Director: Bailey Abercrombie
DOP: Scott McClellan

Production Designer: Cheryl Thompson
Wardrobe Stylist: Julia De Bartolo
Wardrobe Assistant: Cristina Dwyer
Makeup Artist: Taylor Savage
Casting: Ground Glass Casting
Starring: Hyebin Lee

Post-Production
Post: Saints Editorial
Editor: Julie Simmons
Post Producer: Mackenzie Goodwin
Post: Darling Colour & VFX
Colourist: Kassi Bellamy
Color Assistant: Eric Kingsbury
Online Editor: Alexa Salsberg
Online Assistant: Faith Clark
Executive Producer: Morgan Campbell

Audio House: Grayson Matthews
Audio Executive Producer: Kelly McCluskey
Music and Voice Director: Ali Willa Milner
Music Director: Ali Willa Milner
Composers: Ali Willa Milner & Jeff Milutinovic
Vocalist: Ali Willa Milner
Audio Engineer: Brian Bernard & Niki Thay
Sound Design: Ben Swarbrick
Executive Producer: Kelly McCluskey