Instawish Limited-Time Wishes

Over the past 30 years, the advertisements created by the Hospice Foundation have deeply resonated with people. With modern individuals spending more and more time on social media, the foundation also hopes to allocate resources to new media platforms in order to reach the middle-aged and young demographic, who are least receptive to palliative care.

The older generation often contemplates how to face the end of life as they age, but the middle-aged sandwiched generation rarely finds time to think about themselves, while the younger generation believes that death is not an issue to be confronted in the present.

The creative core of "Instawish: Time-limited Wishes" revolves around the idea that everyone has wishes, combined with the concept of Instagram's "Stories" feature, emphasizing that the wishes and companionship of terminally ill patients must be fulfilled within a limited time frame. The design of the entire website and video is tailored to the habit of Taiwanese people using mobile phones for browsing and listening, specifically using vertical-oriented filming and presentation to make end-of-life stories more relatable to the audience.

We invited ten palliative care professionals to be the main characters in the video and share their deeply inspiring stories of fulfilling end-of-life dreams. Palliative care is a team composed of various professionals, including doctors, nurses, social workers, music therapists, and religious figures such as nuns and monks. Each member utilizes their expertise and works towards a common goal, enabling terminally ill patients to depart with dignity and without hindrance.

Before the official shooting, the production team spent half a year collecting cases from ten palliative care providers. Social worker Tsai Hui-fang shared that when she first started her career, she invited singer Chen Chih-chen to sing a song for a young patient who loved music. The key element in the video was a guitar quietly placed on the hospital bed. Home care nurse Zhang Shu-lan from Orchid Island shared the story of her adopted daughter An-sin spending her last moments on the island. She handmade an agate necklace, symbolizing the heirloom that the mother gave to her daughter. Some interviewees still kept video files of the patients when they were alive. Even though they were only fragments, they became eye-catching and tear-jerking focal points. Monk Dejia shared a video of a strong-willed mother who recorded a message for her young daughter before passing away. Her gentle advice revealed emotions that transcended life and death. Dr. Chu Wei-min shared the story of an uncle in the terminal stage of hepatitis. In order to hold his own concert, he practiced the piano in the palliative care ward's common room at night, his relaxed expression diluting the fear of death. The descriptions from the ten palliative care providers are deeply emotional. There is no need to add too much plot, just simply recreate some atmospheric situations. The real imprints left by lives are enough to touch everyone.

Instawish's limited-time wish campaign has received a warm response from the public! Within 3 weeks of its launch, the website has attracted 124,054 visitors, with the wish videos garnering 864,599 views. Users have independently shared the campaign a total of 4,293 times, resulting in an advertising exposure of 250 million times and reaching over 2 million Taiwanese citizens. What's most remarkable is the feedback received from palliative care professionals, who have expressed a greater affirmation of their own work values through this event.