Heart Foundation Australia's Poignant Film Captures Reality of Heart Disease

The Heart Foundation’s new campaign – Saving Hearts – is a poignant reminder of what heart disease takes away from families while reminding the community that investing in research brings improved outcomes for survivors and their families.

Created by DDB Group’s specialist healthcare agency, DDB Remedy, Saving Hearts captures the reality of the lifelong impact of heart disease on Australians and their families by depicting a real-world scenario of a family experiencing a heart event – something all too relatable, given one Australian family experiences a heart attack every nine minutes.

More Australians die of heart disease than any other single cause; it tears families apart. With 1 in 4 Australians dying from heart and blood vessel disease, tens of thousands of Australians have lost a loved one, or will lose a loved one, from a heart attack or a stroke. 

Yet research has found over half of Australians believe heart disease isn’t relevant to them.

Crucially, the new campaign demonstrates the vital role medical research plays in keeping more families together.

Heart Foundation Australia chief marketing officer Caroline Elton said: “With 50 loved ones lost to heart disease every day, there are still far too many Australian families experiencing the opening scenes of our new campaign. 

“However, the life-saving work being undertaken by Australia’s top researchers offers genuine hope that we can keep families together. Funding research is a major part of what we do, but as a not-for profit, we rely on the donations of generous Australians for it to continue.”

The emotional film at the heart of the campaign depicts paramedics treating a man who is having a heart attack. His young daughter watches on, and he begins to imagine her future without him: at a milestone birthday, playing sport, graduating university, and getting married.

DDB Remedy executive creative director Scott Smith said: “In this campaign, we have focused on making an emotional connection with the audience – personalising the impact through the eyes of the father, then offering real hope to make a tangible difference through donations towards life-changing research.

“Making people feel something is a powerful driver, and we believe this campaign will inspire more Australians to help fund the Heart Foundation’s vital work.” 

The campaign, and the Heart Foundation’s work, resonated strongly with the film’s Director David Deneen and Executive Producer Anna Fawcett – both of whom have experienced the trauma heart disease can wreak on lives.

Deneen said: “This is a powerful idea and I wanted to ensure that the performances and the filmmaking style cut through."

The campaign launched last night, Sunday 20th June. The roll out will involve several bursts across multiple channels to support the organisation’s appeals between now and the end of the year.