We wanted to make something uplifting, captivating and moving. An experience that would stay in the minds of our audiences. Something that perfectly captured the essence and importance of time, particularly when it comes to treating type 2 diabetes.

After we decided on a style and story, we contacted a professional sand artist. She helped us tell the story of Samantha, a patient with type 2 diabetes, and her journey through life with GALVUS.

Samantha lived life to the full, enjoying things she might have lost if not treated earlier. And all in a medium that beautifully matched the new GALVUS campaign, and the flow of time.

The emotion of a live performance, and the graceful, flowing movements generated by telling a story in sand were integral to the creative idea.

We didn't just want to create a film, we wanted to create an experience.

The story and performance was developed and planned over a period of 6 months.

Once the main themes of the story were agreed with client, a professional sand artist, worked with us to create a unique and moving performance art piece – ‘The time is now’.

She performed it live in front of hundreds of Novartis employees at the internal launch of the new GALVUS campaign.

We recorded the performance from above the lightbox, creating a beautiful animation in its own right that could be played again and again. It was shown to thousands of delegates from around the world, during the five-day EASD Meeting in September 2016.

Performed live in front of 200 people at the internal campaign launch, the unique show captivated the audience at Novartis.

Their feedback was hugely positive:

“You can hardly imagine that it’s possible that it’s sand. It’s such a beautiful art.”

"She was excellent, such an amazing skill."

"It was amazing. The way she did it was so beautiful. You can hardly imagine that's possible with sand."

The film was played on demand at EASD 2016. Over 3 days, it was played 85 times - a total play time of approximately 18 hours.

It was reported that many delegates watched the entire film, which is impressive considering it's 13 minutes long.

It was one of the most popular films at EASD.