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Saatchi’s and BCRT make the C word relevant to all Kiwis with ‘1 in 9’

Youtube VideoThe Breast Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) certainly raised awareness with its ‘no big deal’ billboards last year. But it also raised the ire of some of those most affected by the disease. This time, however, the charity that aims to find a cure for the disease by 2018 through funding for innovative research initiatives and its agency Saatchi & Saatchi have taken a more traditional approach to putting breast cancer in the spotlight with an emotive new integrated campaign called ‘1 in 9’.

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of breast cancer diagnosis and the third highest death rate in the developed world (and, as a recent article in North & South showed, it also has a whole host of charities competing for the ‘pink dollar’). The campaign brings this to life by using the current statistic that shows 1 in 9 New Zealand women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, as well as the catch phrase ‘honour the living’.

One of the main barriers for the BCRT (which has recently added the word ‘cure’ into its masthead) is that people don’t usually recognise the charity until they’ve been touched by the illness in some way. So the communications challenge was to make breast cancer relevant to everyone.

“The idea is simple. When you think about it, 1 in 9 could easily be someone close to you,” says Saatchi & Saatchi executive creative director Dylan Harrison. “By using a mix of media we ask the audience to consider the statistic in terms of all of the women they know.”

Saatchi & Saatchi group account director Natasja Barclay they didn’t want to create a sense of dread, but rather a feeling of hope and belief that a cure is possible.

“We want people to feel that by donating to BCRT they’re helping to find a solution to a problem that is likely to affect someone they know,” she says.

The campaign includes an opt-in Facebook App that brings home the significance of the 1 in 9 statistic and invites the Facebook user to reduce the number affected by breast cancer by making a donation to BCRT.

“It’s a bold execution that will no doubt make people sit up and realise it really can be a lottery and affect all of us,” says Tony Moffatt, chief executive at BCRT says,

The print execution takes a different tack with the same statistic. While at first glance the ads look like a quiz, a sports team selection board and a government form, in actuality they are ways to invite the reader to list nine women they know and consider the possibility that one will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

While the campaign creative will begin to appear throughout November, the majority of activity will be in February 2011. The brand TVC is live on TV3 and is supported by TV3’s ‘The Big C’ TV programme sponsorship.

Y&R’s ‘Dying Old‘ spot for the BCRT won a Gold Film Lion at Cannes last year.

Credits:

Title: Pay Your Respects
Client: Breast Cancer Cure Research Trust
Product: Breast Cancer Cure
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand
Executive Creative Director: Dylan Harrison
Art Directors: Carolyn Davis & Matthew Page
Copywriter: Matthew Page & Carolyn Davis
Agency Producers: Jane Oak & Loren Bradley
Account Team: Natasja Barclay & Alina Godfrey
Strategist: Tamsin McDonnell
Production Company: Film Construction
Director: Nic Finlayson
DOP: Marc Mateo
Producer: Phil Liefting
Post Production: Digital Sparks
Editor: David Coulson
Sound: Franklin Rd
Sound Producer: Stacey Thomas-Wah
Composer: Mahuia Bridgeman-Cooper

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