ReThink Breast Cancer: Boobyball stunt
Rethink Breast Cancer and their fundraising event, Boobyball needed some serious attention for a budget of about zero. To help get that attention, we used a fitting medium that has never been used before for advertising: women’s breasts. Included in this group of models with headlines on them about the cause are actual breast cancer survivors. People need to talk about breast cancer and this was a way to fuel that conversation. The stunt was on every major news station in Toronto, and in all of the major newspapers. It’s exploding on facebook and twitter as well-in part because of Howie Mandel who was simply walking by. He promptly tweeted the idea to 300,000 people.
Advertising Agency: CP+B, Toronto, Canada
Creative Directors: Aaron Starkman, Michael Murray, Darren Richardson
Art Director: Gail Pak
Copywriters: Neil Blewett, Freddy Nduna
Producer: Jen Dark
13 Comments
Really nice ad.... Too bad we had to go with pasties...
wow this is in Toronto (my current city!!). Can't believe I missed this, it's a bold idea!
http://www.brandslamblog.com
Very brave.
What hath God wrought
a very effective promotion indeed. kudos to boodyball!
It is indeed a good idea. A bold move by the ladies to do so and hopefully it will help them in their cause.
why are the nipples covered?! poor!!!
I look forward to their approach to raising awareness of oral cancer. With street side blowjobs for everybody.
Please Take Care. Bold and Clear Idea.
Good idea. CP+B never disappoint me.
The women look embarrassed, and I would be too. Good cause, but looks cheap.
The agency could still have come up with an idea where they could have spared many from the embarrassment. Because this looks desperate to me. While some may appreciate it (or even give awards), I still don't think that we have to go this far, especially when it's for a social cause. Perhaps it's clever but certainly not touching to me.
'Where cleavage meets charity'
'Hang out for a good cause' - I mean where is that one factor which makes me say 'I want to go and donate or do something for breast cancer'. And what to say in a world where woman are not given the respect they deserve.
'Expose their breasts in public' - No. Not the kind of idea everyone will appreciate.
Head turning but certainly not touching.
I think we in the advertising fraternity haven't ran out of socially acceptable yet mind-blowing ideas. Have we?
How I love those old one show ads which drove home the point without showing or saying anything 'UNNECESSARY'
Ganesh. S
APPEAL works...cent percent
busy.
I think this ad is very effective in getting its message across. Not so long ago, breast cancer was not something you could talk about. At all. Women died because they were uninformed or too embarassed to go to their doctors. Most women are afraid of what they will look like after their cancer treatments. These women are ALL BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. They were lucky enough to have their cancers diagnosed early enough that they were able to keep their breasts and their lives. Many women aren't so lucky. That is the point of this campaign. They are showing their real breasts, and what they really look like after surviving cancer. After cancer treatment. This should help reassure women who are hesitating to see their doctors because they are afraid that they will be disfigured by cancer treatment. This is a good way to literally get the issue into the public eye. It is bold and deliberately provocative. I don't find it cheap, nor do the women look embarassed. I find nothing wrong with this ad or the campaign and the tag lines are especially fitting. I had mixed feelings about the petal pasties: on the one hand I don't think the advertisers would have gotten approval for public exposure without them, but on the other, I don't think women should be embarassed about having breasts. It's a North American peculiarity. Most countries aren't as hung up about breast exposure, let alone nudity. Our ads are positively prudish compared to the rest of the world. Good job!