Students work with NHS to create vaccination advertising campaign
26 March 2025
Staff and students on Falmouth’s Creative Advertising BA(Hons) and Marketing Communications BA(Hons) courses have been working with NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to create a campaign to encourage uptake of the HPV vaccination. The campaign, titled ‘Don’t Overthink It’, launched in GP practises across Cornwall this week.
Dr Cui Su, Falmouth’s Head of Advertising, worked with Creative Advertising BA(Hons) Course Leader, Joel Ferguson, to develop the project’s focus. They created a brief for the second and third-year students to focus on the psychological factors and myths that underpin vaccine hesitancy such as fear, mistrust, or conspiratorial thinking. Students were invited to then pitch ideas in response to this brief, creating a campaign that inspires young people to be vaccinated against HPV.
Reflecting on the collaboration, Dr Cui Su said: “This was a collaborative effort between staff and students and I'm very proud of what we have achieved in a short time. ‘Don't Overthink It’ is a brilliant, light-hearted campaign that addresses some of the thoughts and feelings that may lead to indecisiveness about the HPV vaccine. I'm confident the ads will make audiences smile and gently nudge them to check their HPV vaccine status.”
Joel added: “It's been an exciting journey, from the initial idea phase all the way through to production. It’s always great when staff and students can come together to work on projects like this.”
Students came up with a range of ideas, and the winning campaign was led by student team Ivy Samuel and Rex Hayes. Their campaign, ‘Don’t Overthink It’, addresses the idea that people can overcomplicate things they don’t understand, and how “dramatising conspiracy theories around vaccinations can make it possible to see how ridiculous theories can get without context.”
Talking about the campaign, Rex said: “Producing the ads was a fun challenge, and it was great to work with a well-respected body such as the NHS. Knowing our adverts could make a real change, no matter how small, is a really rewarding outcome.”
Fellow student Ed Talling, who also worked on the project, shared: “Me and my creative partner, Sissy Anderson, created instructional posters for the campaign based on the insight that young people often jot down what they want to say before phoning their GP. These posters are there to help make the conversation easy and initiate a chat about their HPV vaccine status.”
“The lead idea is all about squashing conspiracy theories and how you don’t need to overthink it, it’s just a vaccine that’s here to protect you. It was cool to be able to work on this project and it helped me learn what it’s like to work on a live brief and be part of a team all working on a project to bring about real change for young people.”
Matt Rajczi, Communications and Engagement Manager for Vaccinations and Immunisations, said: “This partnership provided a fantastic opportunity for us at the NHS to gain deeper insights into young people's perspectives on vaccinations and their approach to health communications. I hope this initiative marks the beginning of ongoing collaboration between Falmouth University and the NHS, paving the way for future projects and mutual learning.”
The final campaign included two social media videos, a Spotify audio ad, three sets of posters for GP clinics and hospitals, and bathroom stickers.
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