Bestads Best TV/Film of the Week: Fuck Cancer’s ‘Beat Cancer Off’ via VML Health
Each week Bestadsontv.com [the global arm of Campaign Brief] showcases standout global advertising work as reviewed by a top international creative director or team. This week’s best film is Fuck Cancer’s ‘Beat Cancer Off’ via VML Health.
The film was selected by this week’s guest judge Zane Radcliffe, Executive Creative Director, McCann UK.
“Beating off the competition this week is this prostate cancer awareness spot based around the startling fact that men who ejaculate over 21 times a month may reduce their risk of prostate cancer by 22%,” says Radcliffe. “Viewers can pleasure themselves with a Frank Sinatra soundalike crooning his way through lyrical euphemisms – from ‘choking the chicken’ to ‘milking the moose’ – brought to vivid life with entertaining and unambiguous animations. I can only encourage my fellow men to draw the curtains and treat themselves to a good ‘Frank’.”
Studies show that men who ejaculate 21+ times a month may reduce their risk of prostate cancer by up to 22%. Nonprofit cancer organisation Fuck Cancer, together with VML Health, has launched “Beat Cancer Off”, a bold new awareness campaign built around a striking scientific insight: men who ejaculate 21 or more times per month may reduce their risk of prostate cancer by up to 22%, according to the landmark Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) – one of the largest and longest-running studies of its kind.
The campaign consists of an original song, an animated video, the first-ever smartphone app (to track and prompt), out of home, social, and brand partnerships. The campaign is also supported by leading prostate cancer specialist Dr. Lorelei Mucci, ScD, Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Cancer Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and co-author of the HPFS research.
Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in men. Furthermore, Prostate cancer rates for Black men in the U.S. are two-fold higher than white and Hispanic men. Despite this, it is highly treatable when caught early. Yet conversations about prostate health remain limited, and PSA testing has declined significantly in recent years. Traditional awareness messaging has a reputation for being too clinical and scary. “Beat Cancer Off” is designed to flip this script.
Want to see your work featured? Enter the weekly Bestads judging for a chance to have your work showcased in front of an international audience of advertising professionals. It’s free to upload ads and campaigns – and all ad formats are welcome.
Submit your latest work here.