In Korea, there are significant restrictions on advertising in the pharma sector and patients rely on doctors and pharmacists for advice on what OTC medicines to buy. A survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs revealed that more than 74 per cent of purchases of cold medicines were made based on pharmacists' advice, with advertising influencing only 5.6 per cent of purchases.

Advertising of prescription drugs is not allowed and OTC publicity is severely restricted (patient testimonials and 'before and after' comparisons are not permitted). However, drug companies can advertise preventive prescription drugs for infectious diseases in certain cases and sponsor public awareness campaigns, such as anti-smoking initiatives.

South Korea has the highest suicide rate among OECD countries. In Korea, the prevailing view seems to be that treatment of mental problems is only for ‘crazy’ people. The Korean Psychiatric Association has been hosting the Mental Health Expo annually, organized with 100 psychiatrists, but this time really, they needed to look out for an agency that could come up with a new approach.

We decided to bring life to Tolstoy's novel ‘Anna Karenina ' in the Expo, with the ‘Tolstoy Asks’ booth. As the novel depicts various aspects of human conflicts and insecurities in life, it would give a valuable guide in our life. ‘Anna Karenina’ was reconstituted as 37 intriguing questions, all inspired by the novel but also modernized and related to our real life.

We created an interactive answer sheet using iPad, which shows the statistics of the response in real time. Through this, visitors realized that their struggles were not their own, others were there with them. Moreover, there’s a seminar on the significance of the questions and the importance of the classics.

As a result, the campaign invited people to read the classics and convinced them that reading a good book is helpful for our mental health.

As working out is necessary to improve one’s physical health, it is necessary to read good books to keep one’s mental health. Let people know that reading the classics is helpful for the mental health, through Mental Health Expo by a fresh new approach of an advertising agency. Target would be people who visit the EXPO - who want help and answers for their innermost puzzlement in life.

People could walk around the booth to read banners written with phrases in the novel. They could read 37 intriguing questions and answer to those questions using the iPad where we created an interactive answer sheet, which shows the statistics of the response in real time.

“What if you met your Mr. Right/ Miss Right after you got married?”

“What if you found out your spouse had been cheating on you?”

“Have questions of life and death consumed your mind?”

As soon as you pick your choice, you can see how many people answer like you based on gender and age. After compiling all responses, there was a lecture as well.

‘Tolstoy asks - Anna Karenina’ was referred to as the most impressive experience among all the events at the Expo. In a totally new way, it made most visitors at the Mental Health Expo realize that their anxiety and worry were not their own struggle, others were there with them, too. The campaign invited people to read the classics, and it convinced them that reading a worthwhile book is good for their mental health. The campaign was featured in one of the major newspapers in Korea, Chosun ilbo.

Most importantly for us, future clients – such as Kyobo Book Store (Korea’s biggest book store) and more than one publishing company - asked if they could collaborate in the near future. Moreover, the Korean Psychiatric Association asked us to work for the Mental Health Expo in 2014 as a partner.

We decided to bring life to Tolstoy's novel ‘Anna Karenina ' in the Expo. As the novel depicts various aspects of human conflicts and insecurities in life, it would give a valuable guide in our life. ‘Anna Karenina’ was reconstituted as 37 intriguing questions, all inspired by the novel but also related to our real life. However, in order to attract people with contents that are interesting to participate in, the questions were modernized.

South Korea has the highest suicide rate among OECD countries. This finding led to the importance of the mental health more every year. Until now, it has been common for people to rely on receiving psychiatric counseling, but as a new move, Korean Psychiatric Association is hosting the Mental Health Expo annually, organized with 100 psychiatrists.