Canadian celebrities are wigging out for a new advertising campaign that supports the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, which takes place this October.
Celebrities like jazz vocalist Matt Dusk, actor Gordon Pinsent and comedienne Mary Walsh can be seen wearing pink wigs (the charity’s signature colour) in executions that run as transit posters, digital video boards and banner ads from Toronto agency Partners + Edell.
“Obviously the pink wig and the celebrity faces have real stopping power,” said Sandra Palmaro, Ontario Region CEO of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. “People stop and look and think about it and I think it’s being really direct and focused in its message which is come out and run.”
Each of the celebrities had to commit to the event, either by participating the day of the run or setting up a virtual team to help raise funds, said Palmaro.
The ads drive viewers to AreYouRunning.ca where they can sign up for the event and digitally impose a pink wig on a picture they’ve uploaded.
“Our ‘I’m Running’ campaign will not only bring awareness to a cause that impacts many, it will stimulate conversation about the Run itself.” said John Yorke, the newly minted president of Partners + Edell, in a release. (York and partner John Farquhar, formerly of Wildmouse Advertising, acquired the agency in June.)
Each year the fundraiser attracts over 170,000 participants and raises $26.5 million nationally for breast cancer research, education and awareness programs.
