Bowel Cancer Australia has launched a new awareness campaign developed by Ogilvy Health, Australia’s Deadliest. The campaign spotlights the dangerous nature of bowel cancer, which affects over 1,700 Australians aged under 50 each year.
Brought to life by production house AIRBAG, and directed by Eddy Bell, the campaign employs the imagery and style of tabloid journalism as a framing device, portraying bowel cancer as a deadly creature through sensational headlines, but telling true and confronting stories about its nature.
The campaign is being rolled out from this week across TV, online films, OOH, digital media, social media, print, and radio.
‘Australia’s Deadliest’ OOH ad
Nina East, group creative director of Ogilvy Health, the healthcare arm of WPP-owned comms specialists Ogilvy, said the agency worked closely with five early-onset bowel cancer patients, whose experiences became integral to the development of the campaign.
She explained the challenge for Ogilvy was that “people perceive bowel cancer as an ‘old man’s disease’. We needed to jolt them into reality, dispel this misconception, and help people understand bowel cancer can affect people at any age.
“Through authentic real experiences, we portrayed bowel cancer as a deadly creature striking Australians aged 25-44. We set out to make a confronting campaign that would make a difference. We needed something that would motivate people to be vigilant and look for symptoms. Thanks to the bravery of five phenomenal patients and an amazing client partnership, I think we’ve achieved that.”
Stephanie Bansemer-Brown, marketing and publicity manager at Bowel Cancer Australia, added that “younger people are dying from a disease that is 99% treatable when caught early, yet bowel cancer awareness remains low. This campaign aims to change that. To cut through the noise and give early-onset bowel cancer a face that truly resonates with Australians.
“The incredible teams at Ogilvy Health and AIRBAG Productions were thoughtful, considered, and collaborative to ensure the authentic voice and reality of people living with early-onset bowel cancer was at the heart of the campaign.
“As a bowel cancer survivor, I am so proud of this campaign and the bravery of Nina, Jake, Rachel, Kin, and Anthony who feature in it, to highlight the impact of this disease on younger Australians.”
Director Bell said he was “incredibly grateful to have been part of this campaign, not only for the opportunity to tell the journeys of the amazing patients involved, but it also gave me a chance to start a dialogue around this disease with my own loved ones.”
The work follows a string of recent appointments by Ogilvy. DDB Sydney’s chief strategy officer Fran Clayton left the agency after almost 10 years to become AUNZ CSO at Ogilvy, as Mediaweek revealed in April. Ogilvy Melbourne also announced it had tapped Chris Andrews as group creative director, moving from his role as creative director at Special.
See also:
Fran Clayton leaves DDB Sydney for Ogilvy AUNZ CSO role
Ogilvy Melbourne snags Special’s Chris Andrews as group CD
Credits:
Client: Bowel Cancer Australia
Julien Wiggins: CEO
Stephanie Bansemer-Brown: Marketing and publicity manager
Creative and strategy: Ogilvy Health Australia
Media: Assembled Media
Zac Chapman: Managing director
Samantha Murphy: Client manager
Production: AIRBAG
Eddy Bell: Director
Adrian Bosich: Managing partner
Martin Box: Executive producer
Renae Begent: Executive producer
Megan Ayers: Senior producer
Jason White: Cinematographer
VFX – AIRBAG
Nick Venn: Post producer
Rob Ride: VFX supervisor
Will Lovett: Lead VFX artist
Heidi Wentworth-Ping: Compositor
James Ashbolt (ARC Edit): offline Editor
Gabriel Tick (Studio Union): Motion graphics
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Brendan Woithe and Declan Diacono (Klang Studios): Music editing and sound design
Analese Cahill (Klang Studios): Sound post producer