The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) launched a new province-wide ad campaign this week aimed at bringing awareness to the skills and high level of care provided by the provinces’s nurses.
A 30-second radio spot entitled “The Super Shift” is a mock pre-game broadcast which compares nurses to professional athletes. It ends with the line, “If only we valued nurses like pro athletes. Value the invaluable.”
The campaign also features transit shelter ads. The new campaign is an extension of a previous initiative launched last fall with the same broad theme, said Peter Birt, manager of communications and government relations at ONA.
The strategy for the entire campaign was created by Toronto-based agency Doug & Serge, the agency ONA hired two years ago.
The selection was an informal process, said Birt, and Doug & Serge was chosen because of its unique, lighthearted approach to a serious topic.
“We interviewed about three or four firms and [Doug &Serge] had a slightly different cut than anyone else. We wanted a more upbeat, positive tone, and they came up with some interesting ideas,” said Birt.
“The Super Shift” is not intended to dump on pro athletes, said Birt, but rather point out that nurses make a fraction of what these athletes do for arguably “more important work.”
“The Super Shift” radio spot (which can be heard at www.ona.org/value) and transit ads will run in 12 major Ontario markets from the first week of December until late March, with a four-week break around Christmas.
The ONA is the union representing roughly 60,000 registered nurses and more than 13,000 nursing school affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health and community clinics.
