A cheeky pro bono campaign is using endangered polar bears and tigers painted on human butts to draw attention to the dangers of colorectal cancer.
The campaign for the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada (CCAC) aims to make the point that colorectal cancer puts human beings at deadly risk and coincides with Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
A 30-second TV and YouTube spot shows what appears to be a polar bear in the Arctic. But it soon becomes clear it’s actually a human with a bear painted on his behind. “Twenty-four thousand are threatened every year,” reads the text that calls upon viewers to visit EndangeredButts.ca or FessesEndanger.ca in French.
“The whole point is to get across that you should actually take care of your butt if you’re 50 or over, and by making it provocative enough I think that it’s going to work,” says Bernardo Andrada, co-creative director of Ogilvy Montreal, which created the campaign.
Aside from the TV spot, this year’s campaign includes out-of-home, web banners and print ads. A number of media will provide ad space free of charge for the rest of the year, says Andrada.
As well, the campaign website features six videos of a talking bear butt, which are intended to be shared on social media.
