If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow this month, it’s probably a cervical cancer awareness campaign from Cossette.
The ambient campaign is for Julyna, a month-long event aimed at raising awareness of cervical cancer and the spread of HPV in women. The grassroots event started in 2011 and has since raised more than $100,000 for cervical cancer research.
The ambient campaign features a series of posters of female torsos strategically placed throughout the downtown core. A variety of shapes cut into the posters around the genital region allow the surrounding vegetation to grow through, creating the illusion of artfully sculpted pubic hair.
The accompanying copy reads: “What’s your style? Show your support and join the fight against cervical cancer,” and also includes a link to the Julyna.com web site.
It’s the second year for the campaign which won a silver and a bronze at the 2012 Media Innovation Awards.
David Daga, co chief creative officer for Cossette, said the campaign is intended to both drive people to action and inspire them to share the message with others.
“What we wanted to do is not just create an ad, but put it on the street where people would talk about it,” he said. “It’s meant to be a pivot point so that people walking by will show their friends or take a picture and share it. It’s the jumping off point for the actual message.”
Daga said a trend has arisen – largely fueled by the men’s prostate cancer event Movember – to make awareness campaigns around serious issues like cancer accessible, even fun.
“Movember started it by saying ‘We’re going to make guys look a little bit ridiculous’ so that breaks down the wall,” said Daga. “People don’t want to talk about cancer, so if you give them something to talk about that has a little bit more levity and approachability, you start the conversation.”
“Cervical cancer is something that hits a younger demographic, so we thought that instead of just doing another bike ride we would be a little more cheeky,” added Roxanne Chapman, event and strategic development for Julyna.
Cervical cancer is deadly serious, however. According to Julyna, it is the second most common cancer among women 20-44 after breast cancer, with an estimated 1,300 Canadian women diagnosed each year. The probability of surviving cervical cancer is lower than breast cancer, with an estimated 350 deaths a year.
Like Movemeber, Julyna is also built around a call-to-action, inviting women to pick a design style and maintain it for the month while collecting pledges. The group has partnered with salons throughout Toronto to help create a series of Julyna-inspired looks.
While acknowledging that, unlike Movember, it’s more difficult for participants to share their efforts with family, friends and co-workers, Daga said Julyna is currently more of a grassroots effort.
“This isn’t following in those footsteps – it’s more of a club or a clique,” said Daga. “If it evolves into Movember that’s great, but the way they see it, it’s a little bit of a club versus a group collective.”
While results for this year’s campaign are not yet available, last year’s efforts contributed to a 54% increase in Facebook reach and a 130% increase in traffic to the Julyna website. Daga also noted an increase in both cervical cancer donations and screening.
