HỒ CHÍ MINH, VIETNAM – Dentsu Creative Vietnam launches the first dedicated Tết campaign, “Take Charge, Not Take Chance”, for Merck Sharp & Dohme (“MSD”) Vietnam, an affiliate of the multinational biopharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., Inc., positioning HPV prevention as an essential and timely part of Tết ritual.
During Tết, Vietnamese consumers actively engage in symbolic rituals associated with luck and protection for the year ahead. However, preventive healthcare, such as HPV prevention, is often delayed amid festive priorities, despite an overall increase in healthcare spending during this time. This underscores the need to align preventive healthcare with existing protection-oriented behaviors, a gap that MSD aims to address by making prevention timely and culturally relevant.
Dentsu Creative Vietnam led the end-to-end creative development and execution, with a phased storytelling strategy spanning two key periods. In the lead up to Tết, the campaign focused on encouraging realisation, using emotional narratives to question reliance on symbolic rituals, while the focus centred on education and action after Tết.
At the heart of the campaign was a 36-second thematic TVC featuring brand ambassador Khoai Lang Thang, supported by short videos tailored for male, young adult women, middle aged women and mom with teens audiences. These assets were amplified across social platforms through KOL collaborations, reinforced by precision-targeted banners and high-impact key visuals, including Hop-On Hop-Off bus advertising.
The campaign was further strengthened through PR and partnerships with healthcare organisations such as VNVC and Long Châu, ensuring credibility and accessibility across touchpoints. Post-Tết, deeper education was driven through a collaboration with Vietcetera, including integration with the Kháng Thương Podcast, extending both reach and trust.
Hieu Nguyen, Chief Client Officer, Dentsu Creative Vietnam, commented, “Our goal was to bridge the gap between traditional Tết rituals and the tangible importance of HPV prevention. By weaving preventive healthcare into the cultural fabric of the season, we have transformed a clinical topic into a resonant act of protection, proudly supporting MSD VN in the quest to safeguard the future of Vietnamese families.”
The integrated campaign will run until March 2026.
