JWT Folk and The Marie Keating Foundation urge Irish people to #GIVEASHIT
You may have noticed outdoor up around west Dublin and over the last two
months or some media personalities brandishing toilet roll urging people to “Give a
Sh*t” over the past week. This is the culmination of a two-month-long campaign by
the Marie Keating Foundation to raise awareness about Bowel Cancer. The campaign,
created by Dublin creative agency JWT Folk, urges the people aged 60 – 69 to “GIVE A
SH*T. It could save your life.”
Creative Partner, Karl Waters explains; “Uptake of the bowel cancer screening test is
40.2%. We knew that the issue was more than a lack of awareness – targeted
campaigns have been done before on free the bowel-screening.”
“We’ve come a long way when it comes to discussing diseases and taking care of our
health, but bowel cancer is one disease that people are still not comfortable talking
about. And this is mainly because the screening process is a bit embarrassing to
discuss! So rather than repeating statistics that people already know – that bowel
cancer is in the top 3 most common cancers in Ireland, and that early detection gives
you 90% change of living more than 5 years after diagnosis – we approached it by
referring directly to the thing people are most embarrassed about discussing – the fact
that the screening involves literally ‘giving a sh*t’!”
Waters continued; “One thing Irish people have in spades is a sense of humour so
what better way to dispel embarrassment and destigmatise bowel cancer screening,
than to poke a bit of fun at the process?”
Outdoor posters, featuring the line “I GAVE A SH*T. AND IT SAVED MY LIFE.” popped
up in targeted areas around screening centres. The ads feature both males and
females in the target age bracket.
The campaign also targeted a wider Irish audience through social media. “We all have
a parent or relative in this age group, and we all want to ensure they stay around for
as long as possible, so we saw targeting a wider audience as a crucial step in ensuring
the message gets out there. We know that a lot of people go to the doctor or for a
screening at the urging of relatives, so it’s important to target familes too.” explains
Waters.
To round off the campaign, and ensure extended awareness throughout April – Bowel
Cancer Awareness Month – JWT Folk and the Marie Keating Foundation sent a special
gift to carefully selected media personalities and influencers – a toilet roll with an
important message – “GIVE A SH*T. It could save your life.”
The toilet rolls were sent to a select target group based on their following or position
in Irish culture. For example, health experts like Dr Ciara Kelly and media personalities
like Maia Dunphy.
The Marie Keating Foundation CEO, Liz Yeates says; “As early detection is such a key
focus for the Marie Keating Foundation, we are delighted to be highlighting the
importance of Bowel Screening in this campaign in order to detect more cases of bowel
cancer at the earliest stages and in order to save lives. Our message is simple: Take part
in BowelScreen once you receive your invitation – you may have no symptoms but the
test can detect this invisible disease and it could save your life,”
The campaign will continue on social media, radio and outdoor throughout April.
Credits:
Agency: JWT Folk
Client – The Marie Keating Foundation
CEO – Liz Yeates
Agency Credits
Creative Partner – Karl Waters
Art Director – Dean Ryan
Copywriter – Rebecca Dore
Designers – Adam McKiernan and Paul Dowd
Planner – Derwin Myers
Social and Content Manager – Nicola Halloran
Account Manager – Sarah Conlan
