The federal government announced on Monday (May 17) the launch of a new national campaign to encourage vaccine uptake, which will appear on various media and other online platforms.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is responsible for launching the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccine advertising campaign, called the “Ripple Effect”, which uses the concept of a ripple effect to underscore how one small, individual action can greatly influence outcomes for everyone.
The second phase of the campaign runs from May 17, 2021 to July 4, 2021 and has a budget of $11 million.
The ads will run on TV and radio (including multicultural and Indigenous channels), in print media, and out-of-home including on buses and digital signs. Additional, digital ads will run on web sites, social media and through search engine marketing.
Patty Hajdu, federal Minister of Health, said in a press release that vaccines to combat Covid-19 have provided us with hope for a return soon to the so-called “normal”. And she has no doubts that “this advertising campaign will help empower people to get vaccinated for their own health, and for the health of their families, loved ones and communities”.
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Theresa Tam, also stresses that through campaigns like the one currently being launched, “we are reminding people that the individual choices we make will have a positive impact on our collective future”. And she leaves an appeal: “As vaccine availability expands, I urge all people in Canada to get vaccinated and support others to get vaccinated as soon as they can.”
The latest tracking polling shows that the number of people who have already had a shot or who will take one as soon as it is available to them is up from previous weeks and now stands at over 70%.
Prime Minister Trudeau, it should be recalled, recently stated that Canada could have a more normal summer, what he called a “one-dose summer”, if 75 percent of Canadians were given at least one dose; this would allow many of the current restrictions in place to be loosened.
The first phase of the advertising campaign, “COVID-19 Vaccines and You”, ran from March 8, 2021 to May 16, 2021. The aim was to educate and build trust in the COVID-19 vaccines by answering key questions about the vaccines and providing Canadians with the information they need to make an informed and responsible choice.
These ads had more than 347 million impressions and resulted in over 3 million visits to Canada.ca/covid-vaccine. ■
