GSK has reunited two stars of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" for its latest meningitis awareness push. The centerpiece of the next phase of the “Ask2BSure” campaign is a short Lifetime film that features Soleil Moon Frye and Melissa Joan Hart chatting about what moms of teens need to ask their children’s doctors.
Frye, who made her name as a child actor in "Punky Brewster" before teaming up with Hart for "Sabrina," became the face of GSK’s Ask2BSure campaign two years ago. The campaign is designed to encourage the parents of teens and young adults to check whether their children are vaccinated against meningitis B, the pathogen targeted by GSK’s Bexsero.
As there are different meningococcal serogroups covered by different vaccines, parents can mistakenly think their teens are protected from meningitis B. Frye, a mom of four, was among the confused parents and has spent the past two years working to raise awareness as part of the Ask2BSure campaign.
For the latest phase of the campaign, GSK has worked with Frye and the American cable channel Lifetime to make a short film featuring conversations with a healthcare provider, survivor and mothers who have lost children. Sierra Bodor, director of communications for U.S. vaccines at GSK, explained the thinking behind the approach.
“We were trying to think about who might be a great partner to work with and also reach moms—and that's Lifetime. They're in the right demographic and can help us reach the right people. That, combined with Soleil’s natural storytelling ability, led to the creation of this short film,” Bodor said. “Many Gen X parents feel like they've grown up with Soleil. They feel like they know her, and they trust her opinion.”
Soleil and GSK have enlisted the support of Hart for the latest campaign. Bringing Hart on board enables GSK to present a conversation between moms about what to ask doctors—and positions GSK to embark on a new phase of its campaign down the line.
“If you've seen the film, we ended it with Soleil passing on that message to fellow mom and fellow parent Melissa Joan Hart, passing on that message to the next friend. We see the campaign evolving and the message moving on, potentially to include other voices. We have a lot of interesting and fun things on the horizon,” Bodor said.
The collaborators have made the 17-minute film available online, and Lifetime will include a short video alongside some of its movies. The campaign, which will also see snippets repurposed for social media, could lead to more parents getting their kids vaccinated against meningitis B and therefore support the growth of GSK’s Bexsero, sales of which rose (PDF) 16% to 753 million pounds sterling ($986 million) last year.