THE CHALLENGE

In early 2020, the Ontario Lung Association evolved into the Lung Health Foundation (LHF), expanding from a longstanding provincial organization to a national voice for lung health in Canada. Launching amid the onset of the pandemic, the new Foundation had limited opportunity to introduce itself to Canadians, and brand awareness remained low. The greater challenge was cultural as Canadians tend to take their lungs for granted, thinking about them only when something goes wrong. LHF needed to help people see their lungs as essential to every moment in their lives and inspire them to care for the lung health before it’s at risk. 

THE STRATEGY

To establish LHF as the country’s foremost advocate for lung health awareness, research and support, we partnered with Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil, who lives with asthma, and launched Our Lungs Make Our Lives – a campaign designed to spotlight the incredible efforts our lungs make to sustain our lives. The campaign aimed to inspire Canadians to take their lung health seriously by visualizing the millions of breaths they take without even realizing. Through emotional storytelling and powerful scientific evidence, Our Lungs Make Our Lives positioned LHF as both an educator and advocate for lung health.

THE EXECUTION

Anchored by an inspiring film highlighting Maggie Mac Neil’s athletic journey, Our Lungs Make Our Lives captured the intensity and the importance of breathing – from your first inhale at birth to the deepest, most controlled breath work of an athlete in motion. The film revealed a breathtaking truth: most people take over 20,000 breaths per day, yet few understand what their lungs endure to keep us all alive. The campaign extended across digital platforms including social media and television, all driving audiences to the LHF website. 

THE OUTCOME

Through the campaign’s emotional storytelling and informative data, Our Lungs Make Our Lives made lung health impossible to ignore. The campaign helped the Lung Health Foundation raise awareness about lung health, driving a significant increase of traffic to the LHF website and boosting donations to fund research, education and advocacy. Media coverage boosted the campaign’s reach, while social media and online engagements reflected the genuine emotional connection to the cause. By blending science, creativity and emotion, Our Lungs Make Our Lives turned a typically overlooked, everyday act into a powerful symbol of life – reminding Canadians that every breath is extraordinary.