• by Les Luchter , July 23, 2023

New York's Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge went green (the Arthritis Foundation's color) as part of 75th anniversary celebration.

Marking its 75th anniversary, the Arthritis Foundation has been running a Mower-created awareness campaign called “We {Journey} Together” via both paid and earned media that over the past couple of months has resulted in a 50% increase in traffic to arthritis.org from branded search, a tripling of traffic to a dedicated “We {Journey} Together” landing page, and a 60% increase in website leads generated. And a single press release brought 351 million impressions.

Using social, direct, CTV, pre-roll, Google ads, out-of-home (airport, outdoor, transit), native advertising and public relations, the campaign kicked off in May, with more than 50 iconic buildings and monuments in 22 states going green (the Arthritis Foundation’s signature color) to show support for the cause. Sites included 1 World Trade Center in New York City, the waterfalls at Niagara Falls, and City Halls in Boston, San Francisco and Baltimore.

The ad materials, including this :60 spot, play off the tagline “We {Journey} Together.”

To accompany images of people with arthritis engaged in everyday activities, the word “journey” throughout the campaign gets replaced with such words as “conquer,” “struggle,” “hang,” “endure,” “cope,” “stand,” “discover,” “learn,” “dream,” “rest,” “walk” and “celebrate.”

Noting that “nearly 60 million adults and 300,000 children live with arthritis, the number-one cause of disability in the U.S.,” Mower says that “everyone’s journey with arthritis is different -- and the campaign’s creative reflects that messaging.”