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Prostate Cancer Research

Prostate Cancer UK’s Sledgehammer Fund aims to crack 10,000 walnuts to raise funds

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

January 21, 2013 | 3 min read

Celebrities have today launched Prostate Cancer UK’s latest campaign, which will see members of the public being thanked for their donation by having a walnut smashed especially for them.

The Sledgehammer Fund campaign will see a celebrity or charity supporter smash a walnut in the ‘Nutcracker Suite’ shop window in Holburn every time a donation of over £5 is made, with a video of the smash being aired live online, and the person donating seeing their name appear in lights to thank them for their donation. The 'Nutcracker Suite' execution was created by Public Zone.

Public Zone founder Jonathan Simmons, said: “This unique event is a bold move for a not for profit organisation, and it’s a pleasure to work with a client who clearly understands that innovation only truly works when people are willing to be brave in their execution of ideas.

“At its heart it’s a content marketing solution that embraces both traditional PR and digital to get people talking about a serious subject. The idea arose from the relationship between the online and offline world to raise awareness, increase donations, and have a lot of fun along the way.”

Magic FM DJ Neil Fox, television presenter Diane Louise Jordan, comedian Rebecca Front, actress Kazia Pelka, comedian David Schneider, actor Neil Stuke, football pundit and former Premier League footballer Mark Bright and celebrity builder Tommy Walsh are all involved in the campaign, which aims to see 10,000 walnuts being cracked for the charity.

Owen Sharp, chief executive at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “The Nutcracker Suite is an absolutely smashing way to crack prostate cancer - a disease which affects 250,000 men in the UK, yet has been ignored for far too long. I’d like to thank the celebrities for launching the Nutcracker Suite with a resounding bang, and all the nutcrackers who have signed up to be a part of it. I would also like to thank Marks & Spencer for providing the walnuts, Keyline Builders Merchants for the sledgehammers and Healthy Planet for donating the shop space.

“I would urge everyone across the UK to keep an eye on our Twitter feed, @ProstateUK, and on our website so you can spot who is smashing each day for the next two weeks. We need to make sure our nutcrackers are kept warm in this chilly weather, so I would urge everyone to donate online or via text so we keep them busy – and help us reach our target of cracking 10,000 nuts – one for every man who dies each year of prostate cancer.”

The ‘nutcracking’ aspect of the campaign will run between 8am and 7pm until 4 February. The Sledgehammer Fund is fronted by the comedian Bill Bailey and is running until the end of March.

Prostate Cancer Research

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