SICKKIDS FOUNDATION | THE COUNT | 2025
Counting Birthdays / SickKids Foundation "THE COUNT"
It's a film celebrating a 150th anniversary, but what you see isn't the hospital's history—it's kids running with everything they've got. What's being celebrated isn't the past, it's the next birthday.
The problem
Toronto's SickKids hospital turned 150. Picking up where "SickKids VS," which began in 2016, left off, this is the first major film from FCB Canada, the hospital's newly appointed agency of record.
The insight
Copywriter Jacob Pacey realized that what SickKids and its patients are truly fighting for is the next birthday. The simple act of counting birthdays, something everyone takes for granted, carries the weight of life itself here.
The idea
23 real patients appear in the film, which draws a parallel between the grueling training of athletes and the daily fight against illness. It was directed by Clément Durou. Set to an original score built from the patients' own voices, the children run through the hospital corridors with determination. Rather than portraying illness as something sad, the film frames them as fighters.
What happened
At Cannes Lions 2025, the campaign won four medals: Gold and Bronze in Health & Wellness, Silver in Film, and Bronze in Film Craft. It also won Best of Non-Profit at The One Show and the Grand Award at Clio Health. The emotional film is followed by a call to donate $150, a two-step approach.
Afterthought
The idea of turning a hospital's anniversary into "a fight for the next birthday" left me shaken. Being able to count means being alive. What deserves celebration isn't the past—it's the next birthday.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2025
