Kaiser Permanente just launched a brand refresh and signed a global football star at the same time, unveiling its first new brand platform in 25 years.
Creative agency Droga5 developed "A Better Idea for Health Care," arriving ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The national campaign featuring Son Heung-min positions the company's integrated model as a simpler alternative to fragmented care systems.
"Timing it with the FIFA World Cup gives us an amazing opportunity to reach new audiences," Kaiser Permanente VP of Brand & Consumer Marketing Sean Seitzinger told DesignRush.
"[It continues] defining Kaiser Permanente in a modern, breakthrough way, and show more people that there is a fundamentally different approach to health care, one that brings care and coverage together to make the experience simpler, more connected, and more effective."
Four stop-motion animated films are now live across digital channels, including the anthem spot "Moving All to One" and the Son-led film "Whole Team Effort."
Kaiser Permanente is betting that simplicity and coordination can carry more weight as a brand narrative than clinical messaging.
Stop-Motion Brings Care Coordination to Life
The films focus on common health care frustrations, including denied referrals, delayed care, and disconnected services.
In "Whole Team Effort," Son appears as an animated clay figure playing soccer while receiving support for his physical, mental, and overall health.
"I've been fortunate to have people around me — my father, my teammates, my coaches — who taught me that health is about more than just physical fitness," Son said in a press release.
"It's about balance, discipline, and taking care of yourself from the inside out. Kaiser Permanente lives by that same philosophy."
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Other spots highlight practical benefits, such as MRI access and specialist appointments located within the same care network.
Kristy LoRusso, CMO at Kaiser Permanente, said the national expansion builds on results from test markets in California and Colorado, where the platform launched first.
"We're taking the same core idea that there's a better way to experience health care — and bringing it to more people, in more places, in more powerful ways."
The campaign coincides with a brand evolution that includes a refreshed visual identity and an updated logo system.
It also incorporates a stronger digital-first presence tied to the company's "Radically Advancing Health" positioning.
Integrated Care Gains Consumer Relevance
"A Better Idea for Health Care" shows how healthcare brands can translate a complex business model into benefits consumers immediately understand.
Health care decisions are often influenced by convenience, coordination, and trust.
According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, 68% of people say trust is a deciding factor when choosing health-related services.
Accenture's 2025 Consumer Survey on Patient Engagement also found that nearly half of patients expect providers and insurers to coordinate seamlessly.
A further 70% of consumers prioritize convenience and accessibility when selecting health care providers.
Kaiser Permanente's integrated model addresses all three directly, which gives the campaign a solid factual foundation.
Efficient service design is becoming a stronger marketing asset than product messaging in health care.
- Convenience drives preference. Brands should remove unnecessary friction to improve adoption and customer satisfaction.
- Coordination creates confidence. Organizations should connect services more closely to reduce confusion and improve retention.
- Trust influences decisions. Marketers should clearly communicate operational advantages to strengthen consideration and loyalty.
Brands that simplify complex experiences give consumers a clearer reason to choose them.
Our Take: Can Health Care Brands Win Through Simplicity?
Kaiser Permanente's integrated model is genuinely unusual in U.S. health care, where most consumers deal with insurers, doctors, and pharmacies that rarely communicate with each other.
This structural difference is the campaign's competitive egde, and we think that Droga5 made the right call turning it into the creative premise.
Health care brands can win through simplicity, and Kaiser Permanente has the operational model to back up the claim.
Kaiser Permanente serves as LAFC's Official Team Physicians, which means the brand already has a relationship with the club Son plays for.
This connection gives the campaign a foundation that a standard celebrity endorsement skips entirely.
The soccer star appearing as an animated clay figure also sidesteps the usual risk of athlete campaigns, where the person overshadows the product.
The stop-motion format keeps Kaiser Permanente's care model at the center while letting Son's story amplify it.
Agencies help organizations translate complex services into consumer-friendly narratives.
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