Symptom tweets break the silence on World Ovarian Cancer Day
TBWA\London has hooked an entire ad campaign on messages from a Twitter competition to mark World Ovarian Cancer Day.
TBWA\London’s billboards highlighting World Ovarian Cancer Day
The agency pitched the dangers of avoidance in its campaign, which flags how early symptoms of the life-threatening disease can be easily dismissed as common ailments.
Based around four specific Twitter handles corresponding to the four main symptoms of ovarian cancer: ‘I need a wee again’; ‘bloated belly’; ‘my tummy hurts'; and ‘feel full quickly,’ the accounts have been tweeting 7,500 women with their bodily complaints thanks to £100k of free advertising.
Reflecting the common desire among patients to sweep aches and pains under the carpet, the Twitter campaign seeks to reflect the way in which cancer symptoms are ignored in the real world.
Andy Jex, chief creative officer at TBWA\London, said: “Ignoring Twitter accounts won’t kill anyone, but ignoring the real symptoms of ovarian cancer will. So creating awareness is essential.”
Cary Wakefield, chief executive officer, Ovarian Cancer Action, added: “This campaign reflects the simple truth that these symptoms can often be overlooked or associated with other problems. We want women to follow up on symptoms that are unusual for them and talk to their GP, because early detection can literally mean the bleak difference between a diagnosis with a 90% chance of survival, compared to 14% when diagnosed at a late stage.”
The work follows TBWA/London’s win in last year’s #PoweredbyTweets design competition on behalf of Ovarian Cancer Action. A complementary out-of-home (OOH) campaign, supported by Clear Channel UK, will reinforce this message through the display of arresting headline messages that demand a second look.