Gout isn’t just painful, it’s dangerous if crystals build up in vital organs. However, nephrologists and rheumatologists tend to underestimate the pain and don’t realize the urgency to treat. How could we break through to doctors with emotionally and medically resonant messages on a tight timeline and with almost no budget?

Our objective was to bring to life the content in a way that had never been done before—and do it quickly and inexpensively. Instead of using a traditional animation studio, we leveraged AI to visualize patient quotes and uric acid buildup in organs. We used social listening to find real patient quotes about the visceral pain of gout and paired it with unique art styles to bring this disease, and the patients it impacts, to life with maximum emotional resonance.

This AI-generated film, one of five in a series, is a portrayal of the brutal pain of gout and an exposé on the disease’s damaging impact, designed to build empathy and action among physicians.

The film is built from a real patient quote about the harrowing experience of gout—in this case a description of wasps trying to sting their way out of a patient’s knuckles. It begins with a person in pain on the outside of their body, then goes deeper to reveal vulnerable inner systems damaged by gout, and finally exposes the true culprit—microscopic uric acid crystals.

A unique artistic style was chosen to portray the patient’s pain. Pain like wasps inside a hand was brought to life through the dark and ominous nature of classical oil painting. A 3D immersive soundtrack and original score fully engulfs the viewer in the emotional world of the film.

Despite having almost no budget and very little time to produce the bulk of the work before the end of the fiscal year, the results were astounding. Among busy rheumatologists and nephrologists, we achieved a 16% email click- through rate. The average time on the site was an unprecedented 4 minutes. And most surprisingly, over 20% of viewers revisited the site again, to rewatch the videos and re-immerse themselves in the world of uncontrolled gout.