The campaign was created in collaboration with Toronto-based advertising partner ZiG, interactive agency partner Klick, media agency partner MediaCom Canada and database management partner Health Connect, a division of DDx Health Strategies.

“Pfizer Canada recognizes that to be truly healthy, it takes more than medication,” says John Helou, vice-president, public affairs and stakeholder relations, Pfizer Canada.

“In addition to offering innovative medicines, we believe it’s our responsibility to help encourage Canadians to live healthy, balanced lives. That belief is the driving force behind a made-in-Canada online health and wellness portal www.morethanmedication.ca and a TV and print awareness campaign."

'Anthem', a stirring 60-second TV spot, asks the question: What does it take to be healthy? The creative never mentions medications and, instead, showcases an anthem of life moments. The narrative offers a simple, yet powerful answer to the question of how to be healthy, through a series of phrases, such as: "We can laugh. We can breathe. We can hold on. We can hope. We can dream."

“Not all prescriptions come in a package,” says Helou. “Wellness is at the centre of every person’s journey in life and we believe Anthem reflects that and ultimately, inspires Canadians to celebrate and protect their health.”

The TV creative closes with an invitation to visit the Web site where consumers can get regular doses of health and wellness information and ongoing encouragement to take healthy steps each day.

“The goal of Anthem is to convey Pfizer’s belief that true health and wellness takes more than medication," says Helou. "Good health takes commitment, optimism, healthy choices and support. We’ve carefully developed www.morethanmedication.ca to help provide that support because Canadians and health professionals all told us that it was hard to find credible, useful, health information online."

Prior to developing the campaign, Pfizer Canada commissioned surveys to ask consumers, family physicians and natural health experts what they believe contributes to good health and how important the body, mind, spirit connection is to overall wellness. The in-depth Ipsos-Reid survey involving 4,001 consumers, 200 physicians and 190 natural health experts, showed more similarity than differences between the three groups.

More than 90% of all three groups agreed that good health is about more than medication — and the majority agreed the most important ways to stay healthy include: eating well, regular exercise, keeping a positive attitude, supportive friends and family and spirituality/religion. While 98% agreed that people need to take control of their own health, more than 90% also agreed that Canadians are 'looking for a quick fix' when it comes to being healthy.

Close to 90% of everyone surveyed agreed that 'if we all tried a little harder to stay healthy, the Canadian health care system would be in better shape,' yet only 11% of natural health experts, 23% of family physicians and 35% of consumers believe that, as a society, we’re doing a good job of helping people take control of their own health.

Helou says the survey is simply one component of the company’s new campaign to share credible, comprehensive health and wellness information to help Canadians live healthy, balanced lives.

“In addition to offering innovative medicines, Pfizer believes it’s also our responsibility to help encourage healthy lifestyles and share information that goes beyond medication," he says. That belief is the driving force behind a newly launched, made-in-Canada, interactive wellness Web site.

The made-in-Canada site is devoted completely to non-medicinal health information. Pfizer medications are never mentioned. Instead, visitors can find interactive quizzes, video downloads and interactive exercises that cover a wide range of health topics, including: nutrition, stress management and even online sudoku. For example, there is a section that offers consumers tips on how to make the most out of their relationship with their healthcare provider. There is also a section offering an easy one-stop resource for people to find national and local support groups for a broad range of disease areas and health topics.

Anthem began airing in French and English during this week of in prime time national programming. Magazine advertising will appear throughout the summer months. Content on the Web site will be refreshed three times per week.

The creative team on the campaign at ZiG includes: Martin Beauvais, executive creative director; Niall Kelly, art director; Geoff Morgan, copywriter; Andrew Cloutier, design director; Joon Park, designer. Production company is Industry Films. Creative direcor on the Klick team is Glenn Zujew. The MediaCom team includes: Jill Appelbaum, vice-president; Jennifer Brisebois, senior media executive; and Natalie Clerici, media executive. The Health Connect team is led by Vera Milan Gervais, vice-president.

Pfizer Canada Inc., Kirkland, Que., is a strong supporter of Canadian R&D, investing $130 million annually and is one of the largest private contributors to health research in Canada.