To get fashionable young Indonesia women thinking about the risks of osteoperosis, JWT and PERWATUSI, an Indonesian healthcare NGO, hijacked the catwalk at Indonesia’s Fashion Week earlier this year.

JWT Jakarta worked with a local designer to create a range of ornate, haute-couture bone braces, and sent beautiful models stumbling down runways right after scheduled fashion shows during Fashion Week in
February. Women who came to the show looking for fashion tips left thinking that a regular dose of calcium and a better diet might be their best beauty accessory.

The “Osteocessories” campaign grabbed headlines and became a talking point among young Indonesian women, driving up awareness of the disease over 50% among PERWATUSI’s core target market.

“We wanted to send out a message to Indonesian women that physical beauty needs to be supported by having strong and healthy bones,” said Anita Error Hutagalung, The Head of Persatuan Warga Tulang Sehat Indonesia (PERWATUSI’). “Osteoporosis does not show any kind of symptoms, which is why we should not wait when it comes to taking care of our bones.”

Many urban Indonesian women live an unhealthy lifestyle which could elevate their risk of suffering osteoporosis by going through crash diets, eating unhealthily and consuming of caffeine and nicotine. Awareness of osteoporosis, meanwhile, is low.

“If you want to create a talking point among young women, you need to focus the subject on a matter close to their hearts,” said Ivan Wibowo, JWT Indonesia’s Executive Creative Director. “So we decided to hit fashion and image-conscious young urban women where it mattered most.”

In addition to shock fashion shows, the line of ‘osteocessories’ was displayed on mannequins in trendy stores. Fashion magazines ran large photo spreads on the line, giving the campaign more momentum. The new line of ‘osteocessories’, and the NGO behind it, became the hot topic on talk shows and in women’s magazines in the weeks that followed. The ugly topic of osteoporosis became the must-have conversation on major TV channels, blogs and social media. Celebrities volunteered to spread the word, giving interviews and opinions on the matter on talk shows. The campaign earned Perwatusi unprecedented earned media coverage worth $710,000. Awareness of the disease among young urban Indonesian women rose 53% after the campaign, and brought PERWATUSI’s newsletter 8,000 new subscribers.

Mesty Ariotedjo, an Indonesian star and Fashion Week brand icon, applauded the campaign. “It was a perfect approach because fashion is the one thing that women cannot be separated from.”

Creative Credits:

ECD: Ivan Hady Wibowo
CD: Pingkan Rarumangkay
Copywriter: Ratna Puspita
Art Directors: Budiman Raharjo, Sebastian Chendra, Selwyn Irawan
Producers: Budi Mulianto, Nina Rakhmatika
Account Services: Nikken Diahtantri, Reza Fitriano