Regione Toscana’s 2026–2027 flu vaccination campaign
Every autumn, a flu vaccination campaign has to reach audiences with little in common: the parents of a young child, people over sixty, people living with a chronic illness. For all of them flu can lead to serious complications, and for all of them vaccination is recommended and free of charge.
Getting vaccinated protects those who do it and those close to them, reduces complications and helps the health service work better. The message, however, has two obstacles to overcome: alarm, which pushes people away, and the institutional list of groups and dates, which fails to engage.
For the 2026–2027 season Regione Toscana chose a different path, starting from a question: “Autumn is already full of small setbacks. Why add flu to them?”
From this insight comes “È già dura così” (It’s hard enough already).
The objective: prevention without alarmism
The challenge was to build an institutional campaign able to speak to families, over-60s and people at risk with a single message, without dividing them into separate communications. The project rests on three choices:
- Recognisability, to place the topic in situations everyone has experienced;
- Irony, to avoid an alarmist tone and put viewers on the side of the characters;
- Clarity, to reduce the message to a few elements: what to do, who to turn to, where to find information.
The objective is to turn a health recommendation into a simple act: asking your doctor and booking your vaccination.
The creative concept: small seasonal struggles
The campaign distances itself from the conventional imagery of health communication and brings prevention into ordinary moments. Each subject tells of a small seasonal struggle: two kids wait for the bus in the pouring rain, a man walks his dog into the wind, his umbrella turned inside out.
Over these scenes comes a simple message: “È già dura così. Scegli la vaccinazione antinfluenzale.” (It’s hard enough already. Choose the flu vaccine.)
Visually, the campaign chose:
- images of autumn scenes, with heavy skies and wet streets;
- a large-format white headline, legible even from a distance;
- the invitation to get vaccinated highlighted in yellow, with a pointer to the doctor and to the page regione.toscana.it/vaccinoinfluenza.
The narrative platform remains shared and adapts to each medium. In the 30-second TV ad, rain, wind and other setbacks accompany the viewer to the claim. The radio ad works on the sounds of autumn mishaps and closes with “Almeno l’influenza, risparmiatela” (At least spare yourself the flu).
The plan: ten provinces, one platform
The campaign has been on air since 5 October 2026 in all ten Tuscan provinces, in step with the start of vaccinations. The core of the plan is out-of-home:
- posters, mid-size formats, LED walls and digital maxi LED screens;
- bus shelters in Florence and Prato;
- transit advertising on public transport, with the Florence tramway and the city buses of the other nine provincial capitals.
From 5 to 18 October the TV ad is on air on 13 local channels and the radio ad on 12 radio stations broadcasting in Tuscany. Placements in La Nazione, Corriere Fiorentino, la Repubblica and Il Tirreno online complete the plan.
Conclusion: prevention starts from everyday life
“È già dura così” shows that a health campaign can reach different audiences without resorting to alarm or bureaucratic language. It starts from an experience everyone knows, the cold season, and links it to a concrete action within everyone’s reach.
Discover how we built the flu vaccination campaign
