Happy Birthday to You

This summer I had an internship with a marketing research company that is based in Atlanta. While I was interning there I got to work with team members on many clients’ accounts. One of their biggest clients they handle is The American Cancer Society (ACS), which is also headquartered in Atlanta. The American Cancer Society is an nationwide nonprofit health organization whose goal is to eliminate cancer. While I was interning I was able to work on research projects for The American Cancer Society specifically dealing with their commercials and became very familiar with their media advertisements. 

One of the commercial that stood out to me the most was their “Happy Birthday to You” commercials.  Obviously the song “Happy Birthday” is one of the most well known songs around the world that everyone can relate to and connect with. ACS has tagged lined themselves as the “official sponsor of birthdays” because they believe that every birthday you celebrate is a victory, another year for beating cancer. Their mission is fight cancer so that we you can celebrate more birthdays and live longer. I think the idea behind using this as a themes song to fight cancer is brilliant because it is so unique. It’s amazing that even something simple, like celebrating a birthday, is now motivating society to join the fight against cancer. These commercials really make you stop and put things in perspective; people are fighting for their lives while others are crying because they are upset about turning 50. I think that was ACS’s goal about this campaign. They want people to take a step back and appreciate life, and hopefully feel moved to help end cancer. 

ACS also used celebrities in these commercials. Many big name singers such as: Justin Bieber, Colbie Caillat, Devo, Jack Johnson, Dave Koz, Maroon 5, Jennifer Hudson and Keith Urban, have joined the battle again cancer. Each version of these commercials shows the famous artists singing “Happy Birthday” in their own creative style. These celebrities have donated their talents to help magnify the success of the campaigns. I think have having a famous singer really helps draw the viewers in; most recognize the artists signing but am a little thrown off because it is not one of their own songs. It makes you stop for a second to figure out the message that they are sending. They do a good job with the commercial of making the viewer think, while also making an emotional connection with them.  Whether or not people want to admit it, society is heavily influenced by celebrities. When people see famous stars getting involved with campaigns like this, it definitely gets their attention. Viewers are probably more curious about ACS because of their connection to these celebrities.
I think these advertisements by The American Cancer Society have been and will continue to be very successful because of their creativity and use of famous celebrities.