Bums Are Full Of Surprises - Fartbomb
Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa
Issue 33 | December 2014
Agency
Whybin \ TBWA \ DAN Auckland
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officers Toby Talbot Dave King Creative Directors Lisa Fedyszyn Jonathan McMahon Digital Director Nathan Cooper Head of Design Phil Kelly Creatives Cece Chu Ryan Price Guillaume Calmelet Smeta Chhotu-Patel Senior Designer Chris Lewis Digital Design Lead Alex Waskiewicz
Production Team
Head of Content Liz Rosby Executive Digital Producer Hollie Thornton Producers Sonali de Silva Nick Barnes Vanessa Wu Sound Post and DCP Envy Studios Producer Samantha Jukes Sound Design Vedat Kyici
Other Credits
Group Account Director Nick Bulmer PR Group Account Director Rebecca Hyndman Account Director Amanda Green Account Executive Lucy Ochoa-Petit
Date
September 2014
Background
New Zealand had one of the highest death rates from bowel cancer in the developed world. It killed as many Kiwis every year as breast and prostate cancer combined yet half of all New Zealanders were not aware of its symptoms. If detected early enough, there was a survival rate of 75%. The idea was to raise awareness of this problem and encourage New Zealanders to test themselves for bowel cancer.
Idea
To raise awareness of this problem, the idea was to remind New Zealanders that bums were unpredictable.
So Fartbomb was created. An online tool on the Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa website, enabling people to add fart sounds to any YouTube video. Users could then share their creations with their friends and families. Each video ended with the message, helping spread the word about Bowel Cancer on social media.
Results
Two months after the launch of the campaign, the Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa website went from being barely visited to receiving over 35,048 unique visitors. But more importantly test kits orders had increased by over 650%.
Our Thoughts
Glad to see my old mate Dave King is bringing his own special blend of sophistication and elegance to his new role at Whybin\TBWA!
But, in all fairness, getting people to take bowel cancer seriously is not as easy as it sounds. Having a laugh and letting people make the connection themselves between schoolboy jokes and a killer disease is actually pretty smart.
Some people will think this idea is puerile. Personally, I found getting Van Damme to let rip with an ‘Arse Blast’ just as he got into his epic split pretty damn funny. Which tells you everything you need to know about your Editor. Getting people to talk about the idea, even if they find it vulgar and unfunny, perhaps especially if they find it vulgar and unfunny, seems to me the point - to raise awareness of a disease that kills almost as many men as prostate cancer and almost as many women as breast cancer.