Breast Cream
New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation
Issue 34 | March 2015
Agency
Colenso BBDO/Proximity, Auckland
Creative Team
Creative Chairman Nick Worthington Head of Art Mike Davison Senior Art Director Kristal Knight Senior Copywriter Rachael Macklin Copywriter Hannah Habgood
Production Team
Senior Producer / Project Manager Serena Fountain-Jones General Manager, Skinfood Alex Gage-Brown
Other Credits
Group Business Director Sarah Williams Business Manager Hannah Watson
Date
October 2014
Background
The World Health Organisation estimate that 400,000 lives a year could be saved through the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. Currently only women over the age of 40 are offered a mammogram, and 70% of New Zealand women don't check themselves regularly.
Idea
To encourage women to feel their breasts regularly, a new product was developed. Breast Cream was not just good for skin, it could even save women from dying unnecessarily young from cancer.
It was a simple moisturiser but applying it daily would help women get to know what was normal for their breasts so that they would be aware of any new lumps or any unusual changes as and when they occurred.
The earlier cancer could be detected, the better the chances of survival.
Breast Cream was a simple behaviour change nudge that made it a habit for women to check their breasts, and a new beauty routine that could save lives.
Results
Breast Cream was promoted and reviewed extensively by beauty bloggers and by everyday users on beauty forums, scoring an average product rating of 4.9/ out of 5. With no media budget, this gave it huge reach and very accurate targeting. One social media post by an influential beauty blogger led to the sale of 100 tubes in an hour. And most importantly, this advocacy helped to normalise a very new and potentially uncomfortable behaviour.
Our Thoughts
Another very un-traditional solution to a problem from an agency that is making a habit of zagging where others zig.
Like putting the idea in a tube rather than on the tube. In their submission, Colenso’s has said they wanted to change behaviours. Actually, what makes this idea so ingenious is that it does the very opposite. Where most advertising tries to cut across indifference and jolt its audience, first into awareness of the issue and, secondly, into doing something about it, this recognises how important routine is. And rather than changing behaviours sets out to be a part of them, asking women simply to extend their moisturising regime to include their breasts. The expectation is that the cream’s users will NOT find a lump or an irregularity, which is precisely why they might use it.