With Ireland having one of the highest rates of skin cancer in Europe, the Marie Keating Foundation has teamed up with Rothco | Accenture to create a Summer-themed campaign aimed at informing people about the risks of getting skin cancer while enjoying the BBQ.
Called “Don’t Cook Yourself,” the campaign encourages Irish people to re-think the dangers of the sun and change their behaviour and features celebrity chef Donal Skehan who features in a new online film who says that sunscreen is the essential ingredient at every summer BBQ.
In addition to the online film, ‘anti-cooking instruction’ stickers and leaflets with health warnings will be placed on the most popular BBQ items – a collective of some of Ireland’s most reputable butchers have included them in home delivered DIY BBQ boxes. The stickers and leaflets will carry the campaign message ‘Don’t Cook Yourself’, accompanied with advice on how to be sun safe while barbecuing, and will be made available through FX Buckley butchers, Asador, Old Street, and Smokin’ Bones – who are partnering with the Marie Keating Foundation for this campaign. Through a partnership with La Roche-Posay, sunscreen will also be included with the BBQ boxes, to reinforce the need to make it part of the BBQ ritual.
According to Stephen Rogers, creative director at Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive: “When the Marie Keating Foundation told us that death rates in Ireland from melanoma skin cancer are one of the highest in Europe, the team were genuinely shocked. Ireland’s attitude to the sun is deeply ingrained and has been formed over many years of disappointing and washed out summers. We have a perception that “our” sun is harmless and a bit of a joke. We realise changing these behaviours for good is a long-term goal, but where better to start the journey to better sun-safe behaviour than with Irish men. We knew that if we could hack an everyday activity like the summer BBQ, and get our message in the right place at the right time, we had a better chance of it having an impact.”
“Going out with a melanoma skin cancer campaign over a summer that’s anything but normal, we knew it was critical to deliver the message in a way that would cut-through, without being heavy-handed even though the subject is deadly serious. With Irish men as our primary audience, we worked with Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive, to create ‘Don’t Cook Yourself’, targeting the ritual of barbecues, which are such a quintessentially summer activity. Knowing how much care and attention is put into selecting meats, making marinades and rubs, monitoring cooking times, etc. we’re making it clear that just as much attention needs to be paid to protecting yourself and being SunSmart when you’re outside. With this campaign, we’re not just telling people to change their behaviour, but enabling it too, which is hugely important,” adds Jennifer Cimerman, Senior Communications Manager – Marie Keating Foundation:
Credits:
Client: Marie Keating Foundation
Agency: Rothco, part of Accenture Interaction
Agency Producers: Karina Cotter, Emma Ellis, Jill Jordan
Executive Creative Director: Jen Speirs
Creative Director/Art Director: Stephen Rogers
Senior Copywriter: James Pash
Design Director: Shane O’Riordan
Senior Designer: Diogo Periera Dias
Finished Artist: Gerry Cole
Print Producer: Willie Byrne
Digital Creative Lead: Torlogh O’Boyle
Account Director: Emily Lyons
Senior Account Manager: Joanna Cawley
Account Executive: Laura Redden
Strategy: Tara Finnegan
Social Lead: Colm Cusack
Digital Media Consultant: Chris Gaynor
Director: James Fitzgerald, Antidote
Editor: Cris Schmidt
