If one of the most touched and photographed breasts in the world suddenly developed a lump, would anyone notice?
Rothco and Irish cancer charity, the Marie Keating Foundation decided to find out for Breast Cancer Awareness month. The campaign name, Take Notice, explains why. Early detection has saved, and will continue to save, thousands of women’s lives. But not every woman checks her breasts regularly.
The statue of Molly Malone generously donated her left breast to the campaign. Molly is the enigmatic heroine of the famous song of the same name, widely recognised as the city’s unofficial anthem. The statue is one of Ireland’s most recognisable and Instagram-ed monuments, attracting hordes of tourists daily. Their ‘handsy’ antics have resulted in the statue being groped so much that the bronze hue has begun to wear off on the bosom.
People seem to be more aware of Molly’s breasts than their own.
So the partners added a small lump to one of her ample breasts.
The lump was totally unnoticed by the general public, who continued to take pictures with Molly and touch her bosom.
The campaign film, which features an emotive version of Molly’s song by Irish singer, Imelda May, highlights to the public that if a lump on the most famous and watched pair of breasts in Ireland can go without detection, women have to be extra vigilant and thorough with their breast examinations.
Kathy Troy, head of strategy at Rothco commented “One in ten women will develop breast cancer over the course of their lifetime, and in Ireland alone, there are currently 3,516 new cases diagnosed annually. The first symptom of breast cancer in many women is a lump on their breast. Early detection can save lives as it can make the cancer easier to treat – but unfortunately, women still aren’t paying enough attention to their breasts. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is critically important in raising awareness but we know sometimes the message to form the habit of checking yourself is lost in the sea of pink. We knew that to make people take notice was going to require a really simple idea to genuinely cut through. Using an iconic bust like Molly Malone seemed to be the perfect starting point to highlight how easy it is to miss something when you’re not looking for it.”
To make the stunt as authentic as possible, a key consideration was for the lump to be subtle. Stephen Rogers, creative director at Rothco explained, “We were so lucky to get to work with an amazing team on this project. We knew there would be huge production challenges in creating and covertly attaching a lump to a bronze statue – especially one that has the amount of attention that Molly Malone has. We worked with the Emmy-nominated Joe Fallover, Ireland’s leading VFX specialist, to create, apply and bed in the lump. Molly Malone is a central character in this film, and it was important to us to instil emotion in her. We also had to capture the sheer volume of attention that Molly and her breasts receive. The final part of the project was the soundtrack. We knew the well-known song, Molly Malone, would be perfect for our film but we needed to find a more emotive, atmospheric take on this traditional song. We decided to reach out to Imelda May, who had worked with Marie Keating before, to see if she would record a bespoke version of the song and, luckily for us, she was very happy to get involved in the project.”
Liz Yeates, chief executive officer of the Marie Keating Foundation and breast cancer survivor, added, “Early detection saves lives. It’s that simple. Through its nursing outreach and cancer awareness campaigns, the Marie Keating Foundation promotes the importance of being aware of the signs and symptoms of all the common cancers. This year we are marking 20 years fighting cancer following the passing of Marie Keating, another proud Dublin woman, from breast cancer 20 years ago. If Marie had been more aware of what to look out for and gone to her doctor sooner she would most likely still be alive today.”
Credits:
Client: Marie Keating Foundation
Agency: Rothco | Accenture Interactive
Executive Creative Director: Alan Kelly
Creative Director: Stephen Rogers
Creative Team: Stephen Rogers & Anthony Ortuso
Head of Production: Margaret Levingstone
Head of Marketing: Jill Byrne
Project Director: Barbara-Ann Chaney
Agency Producer: Laura Cahill
Head of Strategy: Kathy Troy
Digital Strategy: Colm Cusack & Eadaoin Coyle
Design Director: Shane O’Riordan
VFX Specialist: Joe Fallover
Photographer: Chris Lindhorst
Music: Imelda May
Director of Photography: Burschi Wojnar
Post Production: Screen Scene
Editor: Juniper Calder
Post Production Supervisor: Anne-Marie Downs
Colourist: Donal O’Kane
Sound: Will Farrell
