ECD's Young Niece Stars in Ogilvy's Powerhouse Cancer Campaign

After five years of fighting the disease, she's ready for her close-up

This stirring childhood cancer appeal demonstrates the power of a personal story told by its creators. 

Ogilvy U.K. created a short film for London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital. It supports construction of the facility’s new cancer center, which is designed to help deliver therapies for children struggling with the disease.

For Ogilvy ECD John McPartland, the initiative literally hits home—his niece Emmeline is the star.

“We always draw from our personal experiences, and that’s when the best work happens,” he says. “But this is a truly personal piece, a piece that nobody would ever want to make, that nobody enjoys watching. But it’s a story that must be told so that less people will have to experience it.”

The film spans five years in Emmeline’s life, beginning at the hospital.

As an infant, she was given mere months to live. Through black-and-white images, viewers follow her various stages of treatment. It’s harrowing stuff.

But the clip ends with colorful scenes of Emmeline today, singing and dancing.

“A terminal diagnosis makes you think differently,” says McPartland. “Time changes. You no longer think in minutes, days and months, but you set milestones. Points in time to work towards. This became the crux of the film, looking at the interim milestones that people set, and showing how the dedication of the staff at GOSH helped push through them, and leave them behind.

“This is the most important story that we can convey. The human body standing up, no matter its size, and prevailing against the most horrible of diseases.”