Ogilvy Health has created an attention-magnet forBowel Cancer Australia. It is a brilliantly cool departure from previous campaigns with its rock song underscoring and avant-garde visual style. The very compelling new campaign, Australia’s Deadliest, presents bowel cancer as a dangerous creature that strikes more than 1,700 Australians aged under 50 each year, citing individual encounters and revealing its gruesome impact.
Its unique approach leans into the imagery and style of tabloid journalism to tell real and confronting stories about bowel cancer, using alarming and descriptive news headlines. The agency worked closely with five early-onset bowel cancer patients whose lived experiences were integral throughout the development of the campaign.
“Our challenge is 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,” stated Ogilvy Health group creative director, Nina East,
“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.”
The hero commercial was produced by Airbag and directed by Eddy Bell, who stated, “I’m 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.”
Stephanie Bansemer-Brown, marketing and publicity manager, Bowel Cancer Australia, commented, “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.”
The song that adds impact to the spot is Let Go by Melbourne band, Cash Savage and the Last Drinks.
The full campaign coversTVCs, online films, OOH, digital media, social media, print and radio.
Credits:
Client: Bowel Cancer Australia
CEO, Bowel Cancer Australia: Julien Wiggins
Marketing and Publicity Manager, Bowel Cancer Australia: Stephanie Bansemer-Brown
Creative & Strategy: Ogilvy Health Australia
Media: Assembled Media
Production: AIRBAG
Director: Eddy Bell
Managing Partner: Adrian Bosich
Executive Producer: Martin Box
Executive Producer: Renae Begent
Senior Producer: Megan Ayers
Cinematographer: Jason White
VFX: AIRBAG
Post Producer: Nick Venn
VFX Supervisor: Rob Ride
Lead VFX Artist: Will Lovett
Compositor: Heidi Wentworth-Ping
Offline Editor: James Ashbolt @ ARC Edit
Motion Graphics: Gabriel Tick @ Studio Unio)
Music Publication c/o Gaga Music
Music Editing & Sound Design: Brendan Woithe & Declan Diacono @ Klang Studios
Sound Post Producer: Analese Cahill @ Klang Studios
