• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, October 3, 2024

In 2017, viewers of the pilot episode of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” found themselves identifying to an excruciating degree with the agonies of the title character, played by Elizabeth Moss, as “Offred” copes with the terrors of a post-democracy U.S.

Reed Morano won an Emmy for directing that episode. In her latest work, two :30 films for AstraZeneca’s week-old “What Science Can Do” campaign, she moves us in a much more hopeful direction.

In “Chloe,” a 60-something cancer survivor gets a tattoo to celebrate her resilience.

In “Nico,” a former asthma-suffering middle schooler races through the hallways of his school.

Brendan McEvoy, AstraZeneca’s head of external communications, tells Pharma & Marketing Insider that the pharma company chose Morano for the films “due to her unbelievable attention to detail, eye for realism and ability to evoke raw emotion.”

Indeed, until speaking with McEvoy I thought Chloe and Nico were real people. But learning that they were just inspired by real patient stories doesn’t diminish the impact of the films.

Morano is a cancer survivor herself, a fact known to AstraZeneca when it chose her through the Caviar production house. What the company didn’t know, though, was that Morano had gotten her own tattoo once she became cancer free.

“They give you tattoos when you go into radiation that line you up in the machine,” Moreno says in a :60 film about the campaign. But, explaining why many survivors get another tattoo post-treatment, she continues, “that experience is something you want to sort of forget, but also you don’t want to let yourself forget because you’ve changed in that process. You’re more grateful for the little things.”

“Chloe” and “Nico” are running on both a new “What Science Can Do” website and as paid social ads in a campaign from Edelman that includes articles and other digital assets.

The aim of the multiyear “What Science Can Do” campaign, says McEvoy, is to increase awareness “of who AstraZeneca is and what we do, build positive perceptions, and drive engagement…We are telling stories about the difference we are making for people, society and the planet.”

In that vein, following its recent U.S. launch, AstraZeneca plans to take “What Science Can Do” global over the next several months, he says.

The campaign also includes media partnerships, which began with a New York Times blitz on Sept.  25, during Climate Week NYC. AstraZeneca ran a full-page ad in the print edition, digital vignettes on NYTimes.com , and podcast advertising.

“Each little step changes everything,” declared the print ad over an image of that former asthma-suffering student rushing to a school bus. “All of us at AstraZeneca are here for good reason. Because we believe that when we work together, we can help transform lives and create a healthier planet for future generations.”

Launching during Climate Week helped AstraZeneca decide on asthma as one of the campaign’s first focuses, McEvoy acknowledges. “You’re seeing a significant burden placed on people living with asthma because of a lot of environment and climate-related issues,” he explains, also noting that certain types of cancer are linked to environmental factors.

“What Science Can Do” was exactly a year in the making, McEvoy tells us, and offers “a fresh take on our longstanding brand position.”

It’s also designed “to help change perceptions about the pharmaceutical industry” among all members of the “healthcare ecosystem” -- patients, healthcare providers, policy influencers, patient advocacy groups -- as well as the business and financial community.

McEvoy calls the campaign data-driven, reflecting not only AstraZeneca applying science “to tackle some of the world’s biggest healthcare challenges,” but also “doing that in a very sustainable and equitable way.”