Healthcare advertising tends to look and sound exactly the same. Warm piano music. Slow-motion walking shots. Somebody staring thoughtfully out of a hospital window. Cramer-Krasselt and Emplify Health continue to push in different directions.
The latest chapter of Emplify Health’s “A Little Empathy” platform brings back the campaign’s small blue animated heart character, “Little Empathy,” in two new emotionally driven spots that focus less on healthcare procedures and more on the emotional weight patients and families actually carry into hospitals.
And instead of simply talking about empathy, the campaign tries to visualize it. The new animated films, “Melting a Heart” and “Caring for Dad,” continue to use animation as the emotional backbone of the platform, leaning into stylized storytelling rather than traditional healthcare realism.
“Melting a Heart” follows an older man whose gruff exterior masks deep anxiety while his wife is hospitalized. As he watches the care and tenderness surrounding her, his fear slowly dissolves into relief. Watch below:
Meanwhile, “Caring for Dad” focuses on a hospitalized father trying to stay connected to his daughter during her volleyball game, showing how empathy extends beyond treatment and into the emotional realities families navigate outside hospital walls.
“Healthcare marketing still leans heavily on the same familiar formulas, and we saw an opportunity to do something more emotionally honest and creatively distinctive,” said Betsy Brown, Managing Director at Cramer-Krasselt. “What started as a creative leap has turned into an ownable brand platform for Emplify Health, one that continues to resonate deeply with patients, staff and the broader community.”
The result feels notably more human than most healthcare advertising, partly because the work avoids overselling perfection. The spots are quieter, more observational, and emotionally grounded.
The “Little Empathy” character has also moved beyond advertising itself, becoming part of the actual patient experience through plushie giveaways that have reportedly become popular among both patients and hospital staff.
There’s also a major business shift happening behind the scenes. Alongside the new creative, C-K is expanding its partnership with Emplify Health to include media strategy and buying, helping transition the healthcare brand away from a predominantly traditional media mix into a more digitally and streaming-focused approach.
That includes Emplify Health’s first major investment across multiple streaming platforms, marking a significant departure from its previous reliance on linear television.
“Our new campaign marks a defining moment in Emplify Health’s brand growth,” said Alison Fiebig, Vice President of Strategy, Brand, Marketing & Communications at Emplify Health. “The momentum is undeniable, the bar keeps rising, and the work continues to stand apart across the industry.”
And honestly, in a category overflowing with sameness, a tiny blue animated heart somehow feels surprisingly radical.
The campaign is currently running across TV and digital platforms.
ALSO READ:
Stanley brings back the Steemer to gross us out – and it works
