Tapping into popular Chinese culture and film, we took the emotions and sadness associated with the death of a favorite movie character and transferred them to the viewer herself through the use of a “future selfie” and a warning from herself, 30 years in the future.

We created an alternate ending to a 2017 Chinese blockbuster where the young heroine dies from cervical cancer. Enlisting the same actress, we developed a short film where her future self pleads with her to get protection from cervical cancer.

The film ran across 40 campuses in 5 cities.

For the launch, students could scan a QR code, take a selfie, and input their phone number for a free movie ticket. The selfie was aged to create the “future me”.

When the future self first appears, the students all received messages from their own future selves urging them to “act now to protect yourself”.

This “future me” faded from screen, requiring the student to commit to saving her own future to bring her back. This also took them to the WeChat page, for information on cervical cancer, vaccination and the opportunity to make an appointment at a vaccination clinic nearby.

71% of launch event participants tapped the mobile button, agreeing that they wanted to “protect my own future”.

64% became followers of the official WeChat account (China’s premiere social platform)

61% said they wanted to learn more about cervical cancer and vaccination