In the process of developing the right message strategy for a local PSA campaign about obesity, we had a breakthrough:
To our knowledge, no one had consulted the real experts: overweight and obese people from any walk of life. In addition, no one had leveraged them as spokespeople in ads. Our audience (the community of Dane County) could identify more with an authentic and experienced spokesperson.
Between consumer weight-loss products and endless shows on the topic (we seem to be weight obsessed), there’s a wealth of messages out there on obesity. Every rational argument has been made to stay thin and active — but in general, we aren’t. So what is new and hasn’t been said?
Our campaign focused on the emotional aspects of the disease — and let the victims of this disease speak for themselves, their spouses and children. After all, obese and overweight people are the ultimate emotional authorities on this disease, and therefore, the most persuasive storytellers for our message.