We created a visual symbol — rallying cry — to tell The Heart Truth about the #1 killer of women.

One in three women die of heart disease every year: eight times more than breast cancer. But few American women knew. After all, heart disease is a man's disease, right? Wrong. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) wanted to correct the fallacy — and connect factors such as high blood pressure to risk of developing heart disease.

Enter The Heart Truth campaign, a three-year national awareness campaign launched in 2002 by NHLBI and created by Ogilvy PR. The team nailed the strategies: an extensive national marketing, media relations and an awareness campaign that pulled in high-profile partners to drive the outreach. And Creative devised TV, radio, print and airport dioramas into a high-volume wake-up call to change women's thinking — and help save lives.

Creative focused on "get-real" messages from women living with heart disease and hard-hitting facts — across print, radio, airport dioramas and brochures. The driving message: "Heart disease doesn't care what you wear. It's the #1 killer of women." — accompanied by an arresting visual of a red dress created more than buzz. It created a national icon: The Red Dress Symbol for women and heart disease.

First Lady Laura Bush became The Heart Truth campaign's ambassador, making women and heart disease her issue. The fashion industry put heart disease in the spotlight for Fashion Week 2003 featuring a special Red Dress Collection. And Glamour took on heart disease as the magazine's official cause in a multi-year partnership with NHLBI. The Heart Truth made the covers of Time, Prevention and Glamour — as well as generated network coverage.

In 2004, the campaign is getting hotter. Fashion Week debuted 24 Red Dresses designed exclusively by leading fashion designers for the The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection 2004. The First Lady announced February 6 as National Wear Red Day. And the 2004 Red Dress Collection Road Show is on tour with fashion shows — and heart disease screenings — in cities across the nation. The buzz grows louder. Women are getting the message and taking it to heart.

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