Havas Launches Welltainment™: One Dose Entertainment and One Dose Education

A new form of creativity offers new solutions to close the global health equity gap

CANNES, France, June 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - In line with their mission to use the power of creativity to make a meaningful difference in brands, business, and people, Havas announced today the launch of Welltainment™, a new approach to creativity that harnesses the power of culture, content, and inclusion to close the health equity gap. At its core, Welltainment™ is a wholly different approach to wellness content that goes beyond failed ad campaigns targeted at underserved communities. Instead, Welltainment™ aims to co-create entertainment content with writers, producers, musicians, and game programmers that educates, motivates, and advocates for underserved communities most impacted by health inequities.

Havas is making a significant investment to fight health inequity by offering to work free of charge on the six biggest global health challenges. They are looking for brand partners to join in the fight by producing and promoting Welltainment™ content on behalf of a crisis area. The top six areas include hypertension, diabetes, obesity, mental health, pediatric asthma, and sexual wellness. 

Havas' 2023 Meaningful Brands™ study shows that 71% of people feel that companies and brands should do more to improve and support their health and well-being. Historically, the study has highlighted that the most significant issue is around relevance, finding that 75% of brands could disappear tomorrow, and no one would care. This is a significant shift and a valuable insight into what people want brands to focus on.

"Welltainment™ is a new style of creativity that bridges the global health equity gap through creative experiences that enable people to build a more authentic relationship with their well-being," said Donna Murphy, Global CEO of Havas Health & You and Havas Creative Network. "By creating entertainment content with culturally relevant voices, equitable representation, and joy, Welltainment™ can have a meaningful impact on addressing the global crisis."

With health inequity being one of the greatest threats to humanity in this generation, Welltainment™ strives to bring together the best of creative and health expertise in developing work to level the playing field. Through the integration of education and entertainment, there is an opportunity to create content that is hopeful and inclusive, rather than the traditional fear-based approach creating distrust.

"We need to think differently about how we define creativity in the health and wellness space because the current approach isn't working, and the health equity gap keeps growing," said Eric Weisberg, Global Chief Creative Officer of Havas Health & You. "Our goal through Welltainment™ is to create entertainment, not advertising. We want to move from ad agencies being in charge of creation by themselves to the power of genuine co-creation with culture drivers and entertainment partners."

Havas has seen success with this approach through previous strategic collaborations in the wellness and entertainment space, including "Everyday Heroes" with Marvel and Pfizer/BioNTech, "Me My Autism and I" by Reckitt's brand Vanish, and "Mindshare" with healthcare charity PUISSANCE DYS and Minecraft.

"Shifting how we work with brands to elevate the conversations around their products is critical to the changes we so desperately need, particularly in the health space," said Andre Gray, Chief Creative Officer of ANNEX88. "That's the nexus of the thought on conversation placement as the new product placement. Welltainment™ places the conversation around our wellness directly within our entertainment."

Launching at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Welltainment™ will be a prominent topic for the two Networks through panels and discussions during the week. Attendees can hear firsthand from the creatives behind the idea and guest speakers, Tiffany Haddish and Jason Lee, on how this approach can lead the way to closing the health equity gap.

Welltainment™ current strategic partners include renowned entertainment companies Studio Canal, Universal Music Group, and Gameloft. As well as media production companies Hana Kuma and Saville Productions, in addition to culture-shop ANNEX88. 

Havas is committing agency resources to the cause and will look for current and prospective partners to join as it expands this new approach. 

About Havas
Founded in 1835 in Paris, Havas is one of the world's largest global communications networks, with more than 22,000 people in over 100 countries sharing one single mission: to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses, and people. Havas has developed a fully integrated model through its 70+ Havas Villages around the world, covering all communication activities. The teams of the three business units, Havas Creative Network, Havas Media Network, and Havas Health & You, work together with agility and in perfect synergy to offer tailor-made, innovative solutions to clients who support them in their positive transformation. Havas is committed to building a diverse culture where everybody feels they belong and can be themselves and thrive. Havas integrated into Vivendi, a global leader in media, entertainment, and communications, in December 2017. Further information about Havas is available at www.havas.com.

SOURCE Havas