For the 2024 holiday season, Function Health set out to challenge the way we think about gift-giving. Instead of more stuff—more gadgets, more clutter—we focused on the one gift that never loses its value: health.
The campaign’s anchor was a one-minute Instagram video designed to disrupt mindless holiday scrolling. It opened with quick, jarring cuts of credit cards swiping, wrapping paper piling up in landfills, and gifts gathering dust—images that captured the fleeting, disposable nature of most holiday presents. Then came the shift: vibrant scenes of life fully lived. Hugs. Laughter. Dancing. Running through the rain. Holding a newborn.
The message was simple yet profound: “It’s not about what we give. It’s about how we live. And I want to live like this—with you.”
Our goal was to make people rethink what really matters. To show them that the best gift isn’t another thing to unwrap—it’s more years, more energy, more time together. Because when health is the gift, the moments that matter last longer.
The holiday season isn’t built for health—it’s built for consumption. We knew that if we wanted to compete with endless ads for toys, tech, and luxury items, we had to hit a nerve.
Our strategy? Contrast. We leaned into the stark difference between what people give and what they truly want. The video opened with disorienting, high-speed scenes of holiday excess: swiped cards, torn paper, gifts already forgotten. Then came the pivot: slower, warmer shots of real, unscripted moments of connection. A grandfather teaching his granddaughter to bake. Friends dancing at a wedding. A father helping his daughter ride a bike.
This shift mirrored the emotional journey of the viewer—from holiday autopilot to genuine reflection. We didn’t rely on buzzwords or promotions. We relied on a universal truth: stuff doesn’t last, but health does.
The biggest challenge was walking the line between emotional resonance and promotional messaging. We solved this by making health the hero, not Function Health. The platform was the enabler, not the focus. The tagline said it all: “Give health. Not stuff.”
This campaign didn’t teach—it made people feel. And when people feel, they act.
The original “Give Health, Not Stuff” video asset received over 1,000 Instagram likes, 453 shares, and 52 comments, while a shorter variation of the original campaign video, entitled “Give Time, Not Stuff,” also received 1,654 Instagram likes, 18 comments and 304 shares.
The static asset also performed extremely well, receiving over 15,000 Instagram likes, 6,190 shares, and 281 comments.
The campaign resonated deeply with Function Health’s audience, receiving comments such as:
