advert-body-1 by Erich & Kallman
- Location:
Ad agency Erich & Kallman created a two-plus-minute public service announcement in which Mike Rowe gets an actual prostate exam from his rubber-gloved real doctor on camera.
The agency came up with the idea and contacted the spot’s director, Andrew Laurich, who is a friend of Rowe’s, who was willing and eager to participate because his good friend had recently undergone treatment for prostate cancer.
The spot opens with Rowe lying on his side on an examining table in his doctor’s office wearing a white robe and facing the camera. As Rowe explains that statistics show that one in nine men suffer from prostate cancer, but that early detection results in a five-year, 100% cure rate, his doctor enters the room and proceeds to put on a pair of rubber gloves.
That’s when Rowe describes the actual exam as the doctor performs it before concluding that Rowe’s prostate is healthy. The video was shot in the offices of Rowe’s physician, Dr. Jordan Shlain, in Menlo Park, California. In the corner of the video there is a button that says “Click here for reverse angle.” At the end, after the weirdly real video is just about over, Rowe notes the button and asks if, of those people that tried to click unsuccessfully on the button, they “really wanted to see that?”
The spot will run on social media beginning October 10. E&K worked with Zero – The End of Prostate Cancer, a non-profit organization dedicated to prostate cancer education, testing, patient support, research and advocacy, on the spot. The unique PSA will live on YouTube and will be shared by Zero as well as by Rowe, who has millions of social media followers. No media buy is scheduled.
Credits
Agency: Erich & Kallman
Production Company: ContagiousLA
Director: Andrew Laurich
DP: Scott Uhlfelder
EP: Natalie Sakai
Producer: Hannah Rome
Colorist: Stephen Derluguian
Audio Mix: Barking Owl
Mixer: Matt Keith
Music: Haystack Music
Track: "Your Smile is the Sun” by Andrew Sherman
Music Supervisor: Ryan Alons
Executive Producer: Ian Jeffreys