Ad Nut has seen a lot of health campaigns in a long and storied career perched in this oak tree. Most of them follow a predictable formula of sombre music, a weeping family member, a statistic rendered in a foreboding sans-serif typeface, and a CTA that lands with all the urgency of a damp acorn. Worthy but forgettable and filed away in the same mental folder as "I really should floss more."
This is not that campaign.
Colenso BBDO has done something genuinely clever with Lump Lottery.
The brief, as Ad Nut understands it, was essentially: Kiwi men know they should check themselves, but they don't. How do you fix that? The answer is a 170-horsepower ute and a man who once had his testicle torn out on a rugby pitch and kept playing. That man is All Blacks legend Wayne 'Buck' Shelford, a walking cautionary tale, and now, somehow, the most qualified spokesperson in the history of testicular health communication.
Ad Nut salutes the casting director.
The idea is beautifully simple: men check their bits and possibly win a truck. To elaborate, visit LumpLottery.co.nz, learn how to self-examine your balls, answer yes or no to finding a lump, and enter to win a brand-new JAC T9 ute.
A word also for the underlying cause. Testicular cancer disproportionately affects young white men, roughly one in 250 males over a lifetime. The average age for this cancer is 33. Crucially, it is also among the most survivable, with 95% of men going on to live full lives even after advanced diagnoses. As with most cancers, early detection is key. The usual symptom is a hard lump and the check only takes thirty seconds. But knowledge, as it turns out, is not the same thing as action.
And that’s why the widespread failure to self-examine is all the more maddening. As Si Vicars, CCO of Colenso BBDO, puts it: “The reality is we can’t educate men out of this illness. Kiwi blokes know they should check—they know it’s potentially deadly—they just can’t really be bothered. We have to inspire real behaviour change. Lump Lottery is designed to use a 170-horsepower ute to drag them out of this dangerous apathy.”
Peter Dickens, chief executive of Testicular Cancer NZ, calls it "one of the most innovative and creative efforts to tackle the issue ever undertaken."
Ad Nut, who has buried more nuts than most and therefore understands the value of prudent forward planning, is inclined to agree.
The campaign runs throughout Testicular Cancer Awareness Month across TV, OOH, digital and social. One lucky Kiwi bloke drives away in the JAC T9 on May 4th.
CREDITS
Colenso BBDO – Creative Agency
Testicular Cancer NZ – Charity Partner
JAC New Zealand – Automotive Partner
FINCH – Production Partner
Boxcutter – Post-Production Partner
Franklin Rd – Sound Production
Match Artists – Photography
TikTok For Good – Media Partner
PHD – Media Planning & Buying
Mango – PR
 Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'. |
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific