21GRAMS

This is for you, 21GRAMS. The rest of LinkedIn may be confused. So, here's some context: The 2nd Annual 21GRAMYS was last week. It was a celebration of each other (with each other) in New York and London, at the same time, live and in-person. In four words, it was pretty epic. The film, below, opened the show. It would take too long to explain the people (leads of departments), why 21GRAMS has a mayor (no reason, just a thing we do), and what houses are (essentially, our agencies within the agency). That pretty much covers it, actually. The heart of the party is an awards show. To us it's the best one because entries are free, the trophy is cool, and we always win. There are 21 awards, 21-second speeches, and categories that represent some of the 21GRAMS-isms that shape who we are and how we work. The Winners: 1. The Maya Angelou Award: ROOM42 2. The McDougall Award: Nicole Meyer 3. Good and Tough Award: Louis Hills 4. Will Be Your Boss One Day Award: Charlotte Andrews 5. Unreasonable Hospitality Award: Allison S. (Selkowitz) 6. Insight Obsessed Award: Laura Moffat, PhD 7. Unicorn Catcher Award: Emanuel Calderón 8. Never Been Done Before Award: Nick Mason 9. No Pedestals Here Award: Cathy Ragusa 10. Do What's Right Not What's Easy Award: Tom Wordley 11. Love What You Do Award: Carli Aiello 12. Best Together Award: Kristen Farina 13. This Is How We Do It Award: Molly Butler 14. Something From Nothing Award: Annie Mintun Quick 15. What Makes the Team Tick Award: Jonathan Rizzi 16. Client Whisperer Award: Mary Osterhout 17. No Bedtime Facts Award: Evan T. Atherton 18. GRAMY Legend: Andrea Branchini 19. Heart and Soul Award: Abigail Masiuk, PhD 20. Best Client Award: Hemlibra 21. 21GRAMS Mayor: Jenny Sharifipour Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to Real Chemistry for all the support. Walk up music (yes, every winner had walk up music when announced) can be found here: https://shorturl.at/Jm71s

What are we afraid of in pharma? Humor, for one. Disease isn’t funny. Doctors don’t get jokes. There's no room for levity on serious topics. Showing sadness, anger, frustration. Sure, these are universal emotions, but what if they associate?our brand with those negative vibes? Culture, sex, religion. They are part of the human experience that, in some cases, are directly related to health or medicine - but what if we offend someone? We’ve heard it all. But when was the last time you heard someone say they don’t like to laugh? Decisions are driven by emotion, but we tiptoe around some of the most powerful ones. We’re all about what’s “provable”, but what about what’s real? Maybe we should stop showing our audiences smiling, and start actually making them smile. Actually making them feel. And better yet, feel seen. It’s scary to be human in marketing. Let alone be provocative enough to break through the 10,000 ads people see a day. The good news is, studies show there are no identified circumstances under which provocative marketing backfires and leads to undesirable outcomes. Maybe we can all face our fears this Halloween.

It’s almost Halloween, which got us thinking a little bit about fear... Where it comes from, why it exists, which fears are ingrained in us, and which fears we've learned. There’s a biological reason your heart rate increases, pupils dilate, nonessential systems turn off, and veins constrict when faced with your fears. In human evolution, it was a function of survival. People who feared the right things survived to pass on their genes. But in advertising, it’s how the greatest ideas die, taking the legacies of brands, marketers, and agencies with them. Left to fall into a safe, quiet, peaceful oblivion. Studies say that up to 90% of our fears are learned. Maybe it’s time to unlearn a few. Because there's nothing scarier than regret.

For all the creators out there, ROOM42 is our years-in-the-making homegrown, full-up production company. Now, it can be yours too. With a roster of directors, animators, illustrators and everything in between, they can make just about anything. Including a Kevin. It's just one of the ways 21GRAMS and Real Chemistry are doing our part to make healthcare a more creative place to be. EnterROOM42.com

Question... When was the last time you clicked on a banner ad? On purpose. It's either a digital billboard, an interesting creative challenge, or funds better spent on an experiment. Something your brand has never done before, but just might work. Really well. And if it fails? You didn't risk much. That's what a scientist would do. Why not do it for life sciences?

You can't see James Kuo's hands, but he's actually playing that stock music. What a talent. Another talent? Bringing humor (that's actually funny) to regulated brands. We said it was risky... that everyone knows the only way people can learn about medicine is with slow motion shots of a generic actor smiling and pointing at nothing in particular. But he just wouldn't listen. Get a behind the scenes perspective from James on some of 21GRAMS' highly effective TikTok work. Made for an audience that's there to be entertained.

Definitely not. But 21GRAMS elects one every year?anyway.? What do they promise? Everything. What do they do? Literally nothing.? Why do we do it? We're not sure. Congrats to?Jenny?Sharifpour?on being elected our?2025?agency mayor.?Your campaign was?pretty?ridiculous, but it worked.?We can't wait to see what?little you do.? Do you want to be a mayor?and?an advertising?professional? Email us. We'll (probably) approve your?message.

We like to try weird stuff. Like make?simulated doctors.?We love real doctors, but we don't need them every?time we want to learn something about a brand's?messaging. They're busy. They?have more important?things to do. Like save us.? Plus, our AI experiment worked.?Simulated?doctors?respond very similarly to the real ones.?Just don’t ask?them to prescribe.

They think it’s great. They love it. We know because we?care enough to learn what doctors like. Why? Because?they're people with real interests. And if we don’t create?work that considers what those are, then our creation is?a waste of time.? Our philosophy? Find out what people like. You might?have a chance at getting their attention.

Mmm, dinner. We love dinner. So much that we made?our own kind: 21GRAMS Dinners. It’s not because we?like to eat (it’s a little bit about that). It’s because we like?to sit down and get to know our audiences on a human?level. Just like you’d get to know people in real life.? We’ve found breaking bread breaks barriers. An?interrogational-style 2-way mirror can’t do that.