Illustrated mosquito standing upright with hands on hips, on a lime green background

Merck Dengue Awareness Campaign

Client: Merck
Services: Illustration · Character Design

A mosquito character and set of illustrated everyday scenes for a Merck staff training campaign on dengue fever awareness, co created with agency Watering Can Media.

Everyday Scenes

Illustration of a mosquito character teaching a lesson at a green chalkboard, with a shoe diagram and the text "x100 babies" — One of the everyday scenes built around the campaign’s mosquito character.

Illustration of a family at an outdoor barbecue in a tropical village setting, with a mosquito character hovering nearby — One of the everyday scenes built around the campaign’s mosquito character.

Illustration of a child on a swing set in a garden, with a mosquito character flying alongside — One of the everyday scenes built around the campaign’s mosquito character.

Illustration of two people at an outdoor café table in the evening, with a mosquito character hovering above — One of the everyday scenes built around the campaign’s mosquito character.

Illustration of a mosquito character tucking two children into bed in a bedroom setting — One of the everyday scenes built around the campaign’s mosquito character.

Illustration of a mosquito character sitting on a sofa with two children in a living room setting — One of the everyday scenes built around the campaign’s mosquito character.

The Brief

Merck brought CUMI onboard early enough to co create the concept and illustration style alongside agency Watering Can Media. The animation was intended for the large number of Merck staff working in countries where mosquitoes are common, dengue fever, a common result of certain mosquito bites, was resulting in a significant number of staff sick days. There are three very basic precautions that can help prevent being bitten, precautions most people already know but generally ignore to some extent, so the training video needed to be engaging enough to make a familiar message land again.

Character & Tagline

Close up illustration of a mosquito’s compound eyes against a radiating psychedelic background, with the text "always looking" — The campaign’s own tagline, "always looking, always searching for every opportunity."

Illustration of a mosquito in flight against a colourful streaked background, with the text "always searching for every opportunity" — The campaign’s own tagline, "always looking, always searching for every opportunity."

Simple black and white colouring sheet featuring the campaign’s mosquito character and a small boy figure — A simple colouring sheet, produced as a supporting piece.

What CUMI Created

We came on at the beginning of the process so were able to generate the ideas and concepts with Watering Can Media and then create the characters and storyboards. The animation was fun as we knew the vision from the beginning. Happy client, happy us.

What the client said

“CUMI are the most talented and creative producers of animated content I have worked with. They don't just do what you ask but go beyond. They bring their experience to the concepts and help you wrestle with complicated subject matter to create clear and easy to understand animations that not only help you to make what you are trying to explain easy to understand but also delightful to watch.”

Ben Harvey Managing Director, Watering Can Media

Credits

Illustration & Character Design: CUMI
Agency: Watering Can Media
Client: Merck