Working With Cancer’s ‘Big C’ global creative contest opens for entries

Working With Cancer's "The Big C" is open from 10 July for entries, with creatives from across adland "and beyond" invited to submit their ideas for a campaign that will break on World Cancer Day 2024.

Creatives, individuals and duos (working either within an agency or across agencies) have until 15 September to enter ideas for work that will help destigmatise and alleviate insecurity about cancer in the workplace.

The announcement follows last month's news from Cannes Lions (see video above) that Publicis Groupe and its four rivals – WPP, Omnicom, Interpublic and Edelman – were calling their "best creative minds" to take part in a $100m global competition to create the next stage of Working With Cancer.

Working With Cancer is asking creatives to pitch ideas for a new campaign to run on World Cancer Day 2024 and a week later in February during the Super Bowl.

Some $100m of donated media spend has been pledged to support the work, a sum that will also include limited production resource. Working With Cancer, which won the Grand Prix for health for good Lion at Cannes, has been inspired by Publicis Groupe chief executive Arthur Sadoun's personal experience of being treated for cancer in spring 2022.

Judging will take pace throughout October and the winner will be revealed at the end of that month. The winners will also be awarded a delegate pass to attend Cannes Lions 2024.

More details are available here.

Many global brands, including Citi, EE, L'Oréal, Lloyds Banking Group, LVMH, McDonald's, Pepsico, Unilever and Walmart, have pledged their support for Working With Cancer.

Media companies ranging from Google and Meta to Disney and Haymarket Media Group, the publisher of Campaign, have also signed up and donated media space for the campaign.

This article was updated with relevant information as of 11 July.