RED CROSS | SOS SMS | 2015
A life-saving line, hidden in your phone's lock screen / Red Cross "SOS SMS"
Just type "*SOS" on your phone's lock screen, and paramedics can instantly pull up your medical conditions and blood type. It sounds small, but that one line can be the difference between life and death.
The problem
In Mexico, about 3,000 emergency calls reportedly come in every day, and 5% of them end in death.
The insight
The idea started with a simple discovery: the mobile phone was the most widely used medium among Mexicans. From there came the thought of turning the phone screen itself into emergency infrastructure. The key moment, they realized, was the very first contact with paramedics—before the victim ever reaches the hospital.
The idea
The system lets paramedics type "*SOS" on a victim's phone lock screen to access that person's medical database. It was designed as a below-the-line effort combining direct marketing, activation, and mobile marketing.
What happened
In an initial rollout, invitations were sent by SMS to 300,000 people, and four out of ten correctly registered their medical information. At Cannes Lions 2015, the campaign won Gold in Promo & Activation, Silver in Mobile, and Bronze in both Health & Wellness and Pharma.
Afterthought
What's striking is that this wasn't flashy footage or a line built to go viral—it was a lifeline tucked into the one place nobody ever thinks to look: a phone's lock screen. It makes you realize that the moments when advertising actually saves a life often come from this kind of quiet, careful design.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2015
