Chrissy Amphlett's 'I Touch Myself' reworked to become breast cancer anthem in awareness campaign from JWT Sydney
Cancer Council, JWT Sydney and friends and family of Chrissy Amphlett have joined forces to launch the ‘I Touch Myself Project’, raising awareness of breast cancer as a tribute to the Australian vocalist who passed away from the disease almost a year ago.
Leading female artists including Olivia Newton John, Sarah McLeod and Connie Mitchell amongst others have lent their support to the campaign, which kicks off with a 2.5 minute music video.
The video is supported by two 60-second TV ads, radio, digital billboards and a website developed and designed by Soap Creative.
Simon Langley, executive creative director, JWT Sydney, explained: “Transforming perception and changing behaviour is what JWT is all about. It’s a shocking fact that so many Australian women develop breast cancer, so as a tribute to Chrissy we approached her husband and fellow band member, Charley Drayton, with the idea of turning her song ‘I Touch Myself’ into a breast cancer anthem to help continue to raise awareness of this disease.
“When Chrissy sang ‘I Touch Myself’, you couldn’t help but listen. Now the ‘I Touch Myself Project’ makes sure her voice is heard loud and clear for a different reason, for breast cancer prevention.”
Marking the anniversary of Amphlett’s death on 21 April 2014 will be the inaugural ‘I Touch Myself Day’ which asks women to ‘touch themselves’ as reminder to get to know the look and feel of their breasts.
Langley added: “Women can show how they’ve been touched by using the hashtags and posting a message or a selfie about their own breast cancer experience or leave a message of support for someone they know who has been touched by breast cancer. We hope the campaign will become a social media phenomena creating a movement that comes together on 21 April every year to raise awareness of breast cancer.”
Kathy Chapman, director of cancer programmes at Cancer Council NSW, commented: “We know that by the age of 85, one in eight Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. However, detecting breast cancer early is the most important factor in beating this disease. Through this campaign we are encouraging women to get to know their breasts better, to know what is normal for them and to participate in breast screening if they’re in the right age range. At different ages there are various steps women can take to detect breast cancer early, however at any age if women have any concerns they should see their doctor.”
Hill+Knowlton Strategies will manage PR for the campaign using social media to encourage people to share using the hashtags #itouchmyselfproject or #itouchmyselfie on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Google+.