JohnXHannes Raises Bar for Health Advertising with Dramatic Medical Thriller

Healthcare is a tough category to get truly creative with, but Montefiore Health System has just raised the bar for branded entertainment with a star-studded short film about organ donation.

Part of Give Your Heart - an integrated campaign created by New York boutique JohnXHannes to raise awareness of the need for organ donors - Corazón premiered at Tribeca Film Festival this week, where it was selected as a finalist for the X Award, which recognises exceptional storytelling by a brand at the intersection of advertising and entertainment.

Directed by The Road's John Hillcoat, the film is a gritty medical thriller telling the real-life story of a doctor and his patient, a desperate working girl from the Dominican Republic, in a race against time to reach the Montefiore centre in New York for life-saving heart surgery. Touching on issues of immigration and social justice, it aims to highlight Montefiore's commitment to medical assistance for all - regardless of nationality or social status.

Roping in a heavyweight cast including Academy Award nominee Demián Bichir (A Better Life, The Hateful Eight, Alien: Covenant, Savages) and Blade Runner 2049 actress Ana de Armas in the lead roles, the film also features one of Montefiore's own surgeons carrying out a real-life heart operation.  

“Importantly, Corazón was always entertainment first,” says Hannes Ciatti, co-founder and executive director of JohnXHannes NY. “But by telling one woman’s true story, we were also able to seamlessly show the audience what Montefiore stands for. Corazón asks viewers to not only care, but also use the simple tool we provide to become part of a real solution. To become an organ donor. Corazón isn’t just a film. It’s a complete effort, created to make a difference.” 

As part of the wider campaign, the agency has come up with a simple but effective interactive solution for organ donation. Together with Active Theory, they've developed an interactive phone app that 'recognises' your heartbeat when you hold the phone over your heart, and then connects you to the Corazon website where you can register to become a donor.

Users in New York, meanwhile, can also use the app to connect to a digital billboard in Times Square, where the sound of their heartbeats brings the lead character to life in the film posters [below].

Read more about JohnXHannes in our creative profile.