• by Fern Siegel , April 22, 2024

Since the pandemic began, public health workers have been in the news. The Cook County Department of Public Health wanted to highlight the important work they do and the resources available.

Enter the Public Health Heroes League awareness campaign, which explains how public health professions build healthier communities. Flowers Communications Group produced the creative for the Chicago-area campaign.

The animated work is running on suburban Cook County buses, billboards, websites, social-media sites, TV and YouTube. Three 30-second animated spots, beginning with "Dawn of Vigilance," introduce the league’s main characters — from an epidemiologist to nurses to an environmental health chief.

The graphics illustrate the diversity of workers fighting various issues, including the opioid epidemic and tuberculosis, as well as promoting immunizations and community outreach.

While the characters are fictional, their positions are based on real-life professionals.

"At its core, the mission of the Public Health League is to ensure the 2.3 million residents we serve are aware of the resources we provide alongside our partners. We recognized there was a lack of awareness within our communities, so we created a campaign to highlight the important work we do and champion the everyday heroes among us who keep people healthy and informed," Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, CCDPH chief operating officer, told Agency Daily. "Our novel approach is engaging and fun and reflects the diversity and vibrancy of our staff and the communities in which we work."

The marketing campaign is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.