In 2007, I was responsible for conceptualising, designing and creating all the assets for publicity stunts at the Novartis annual shareholder meeting in Basel, as well as for other Oxfam materials supporting the organisation's campaign. The aim was to address major shortcomings in the pharmaceutical industry's initiatives to ensure access to medicines for poor people.
As the industry increasingly sought to expand into emerging economies, poor people in these countries continued to lack affordable and appropriate medicines. In its Investing For Life report, Oxfam called for a bold new approach, with access to medicines becoming a central consideration for the industry's decision-making and practices. This approach would not only be a more sustainable long-term business strategy, but it would also support the universal right to health.
One of my secrets regarding this campaign is that I shot those photos of the medicine box and pill bottles with a red background – on top of a fridge at Oxfam's headquarters. The lighting was perfect, and the wall was already painted red, so all I needed was some Photoshop magic to clean it up and make it a part of our assets.
