• by Les Luchter , February 10, 2025

“Everything I Have Is Yours” croons Billie Holiday, as a snowball grows larger and larger in pursuit of a man drinking more and more -- until he’s literally consumed by the giant snowball and apparently driven off a cliff.

That encapsulation of alcohol misuse during the winter season is in “The Snowball,” a 3-minute animated YouTube video created pro bono by IPG’s FCB Health New York for the anti-addiction nonprofit Safe Project.

“Colder shorter days can increase alcohol consumption,” reads an on-screen graphic after the giant snowball comes crashing down.

“That can lead to dependency, cirrhosis, or worse. Learn the risks before they snowball out of control,” the text continues, as the viewer learns that the animated man -- clutching a photo of his family -- has survived his ordeal.

The video directs viewers to TheSnowball.com, also created by FCB Health New York, where they’ll find more info and resources.

Social media assets, a behind-the-scenes film, banner ads and out-of-home ads are being used to drive people to the video and website, Kathleen Nanda, the agency’s chief creative officer, tells Marketing Daily.

Both the video and the site point out that “The Snowball” is based on a “landmark” 2019 research article titled “Colder Weather and Fewer Sunlight Hours Increase Alcohol Consumption and Alcoholic Cirrhosis Worldwide.”

But “The Snowball” will outlast the cold. “While our main message is the correlation between darker colder days and alcohol misuse, alcohol misuse happens during all months,” states Nanda.

The video “draws pathos from its soundtrack,” according to an agency spokesperson who calls the Billie Holiday song “an intentional choice given her own tragic battle with substance abuse.”

“Our music supervisor worked closely with the rights holders to obtain permission,” says Nanda. “Fortunately, they felt passionately about the cause of this film and agreed to grant us permission to use the song.”