Cannes Lions

This Bike has MS

GREY MELBOURNE, Melbourne / MS AUSTRALIA / 2016

Case Film
Supporting Images
Demo Film

Overview

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Credits

Overview

Description

To improve the understanding of MS and raise funds, we hid the debilitating symptoms of MS in the design of a bike.

Working with Paralympian gold medallist Carol Cooke, neurologists, physiotherapists, bike mechanics, sport scientists and people living with MS we hid the debilitating symptoms of MS in its design. This bike was then ridden at the MS charity event by Olympic cyclist Shane Kelly. His struggle shocked spectators and journalists as the symptoms of MS made the bike so tough to ride they struggled to finish the charity race.

Execution

Firstly, we built a bike with the symptoms of MS hidden inside its parts.

To improve the understanding of MS and raise funds, we created a bike with MS.

Teeth were removed from its gears to mimic spasticity. Ball bearings were tucked inside the handlebars to create pins and needles. The frame was made heavy and the wheels buckled to cause fatigue and offset balance forcing the rider to constantly fight against it just to keep it straight.

Then the Bike was launched at the MS Melbourne Cycle

The bike was ridden at a MS charity event by Olympic cyclist Shane Kelly. Live-streamed to an audience with a direct link to fundraising, spectators witnessed him struggle to even finish the charity ride. Shane commentated via live feeds on the massive toll the bike was taking on his body, shedding light on the symptoms of MS in an entirely new way.

Outcome

This Bike has MS is the most far reaching campaign on record for MS Australia, outperforming the previous benchmark set by the previous campaign. Some stand out results include:

• The story of the bike was covered in over 30 countries

• 13 health brands including 5 global pharmaceutical brands now use the bike for education

• The bike has helped raise more than $1 million for MS treatment

• New bikes are now being built in Japan, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, Australia and the USA

• The campaign garnered more than 7 million in earned media.

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