Creative Execution

We created an unwatchable online film, called Stop The Horror. It was released as a horror movie by a famous director and immersed the viewer in the true story of Greg Sims, a terminally ill patient. It captured the unrelievable pain and suffering he endured at the end of his life. It was so distressing a ‘Stop The Horror’ button was included so the viewer could escape the film. Once clicked, we revealed how to truly stop the horror - by contacting politicians and expressing support for this law. The campaign launched in Facebook with an official page and video trailers. We used a targeted Victoria-first strategy to engage existing advocates and new millennial audiences. In PR, a phased outreach strategy backed by issues planning, key messaging and bespoke media packages was used. At launch, major TV and digital media exclusives focused on news and culture to ignite social sharing.

Stop The Horror went viral within 24 hours of the launch, with the average viewer watching 3min 15sec of the film before hitting the ‘Stop The Horror’ button. The campaign made headlines on local and international news platforms – including features in The Australian, Mamamia, The Project, The Mirror (UK), UNILAD (UK), CNN Chile (Chile) plus outlets in Ireland, Peru, USA, Mexico. Total earned media = $4.2m Total reach = +280M 190,000+ sessions 10,000+ petition submissions Arguably, the only result that matters is that, for the first time in history, parliament legalised voluntary assisted dying. Victoria is now the only state in Australia with such a law.

Typically, the subject of voluntary euthanasia draws the attention of an older audience. However, we believed that by getting a younger, more activist-driven demographic to be part of the conversation, we would make it difficult for politicians to ignore the message. Research suggested, naturally, that most people aren’t drawn to the subject of voluntary assisted dying. While personal stories of the end of life choices provide a powerful mechanism to drive support, people don’t necessarily want to engage with such harrowing truths. We realised the need to show the reality of life for a terminally ill patient in a way that drew people into our message before they shut off. To this end, our famous director, Justin Kurzel was part of the strategy. His name, and the interviews he did with sites like FilmInk, legitimized the announcement of the new horror movie and helped us broaden our target audience.