The Longer You Wait, the Bigger the Problem Becomes

Did you know that breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer worldwide?

Did you know it's also the fifth most common cause of cancer death?

Did you know in 2004, breast cancer caused over 519,000 deaths worldwide?

Indeed, such staggering statistics and the thought of cancer alone, regardless of type, make anyone cringe and is a subject that may make many people feel very uncomfortable. Personally, I remember about seven years ago when I was just 16, my own aunt, Mila, was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was one of the most painful experiences my family and I had to face. With her diagnosis deemed malignant, my aunt went through chemotherapy and lost all of her hair. I am grateful that because she was able to detect it early enough, she has recovered from breast cancer and is better off today.

The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF), with the help of ad agency Colenso BBDO, has created a video campaign to highlight the importance of breast cancer awareness. The video translates breast cancer into a seemingly harmless, pink blog that grows to take over a family home and is seen in multiple scenes where it is ignored by the characters in the video for hours. The initially tiny blob grows so large that it is seen towards the end of the video taking up the whole space of a family home.

Ultimately, the video conveys that ignoring the early stages of breast cancer only makes the problem bigger. Check out this eye catching video for yourself below.

The campaign entitled, "The Longer You Wait, the Bigger the Problem Becomes," depicts an analogy of how breast cancer can take over the lives of a normal New Zealand family. According to NZBCF's website, "The symbolism of the blob is apparent in its slow growth and reflects the fact that the longer breast cancer is left untreated the bigger the problem becomes." 

When I saw this ad, I thought it was very creative and unique. It does a great job in provoking behavior in its viewers. I felt that NZBCF's use of the growing, pink blob and the role it plays in the video grabs the audience's attention very well. Undoubtedly, when I first saw this video, it captured my attention and it made me want to watch the video until the end to understand what the blob represented. With a personal, sensitive subject such as breast cancer, the video campaign finds a creative way in conveying its key message for breast cancer awareness - early detection.

For more information about the campaign itself, you can find it on NZBC's website.

What did you think of The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation's video promo? What feelings and emotions did this video evoke in you? Do you think NZBCF's video was effective in educating about early detection of breast cancer?

Submitted by guest author, Christian Aniciete.

Comments

[Heather Laible]

Wow... this is a great video.
My family went thrugh this about 8 years ago when I lost my mom to breast cancer, so it is definitely an issue that I give a lot of attention to.

The difference with this campaign, compared to others I've seen, is that it approaches cancer in a way that you cannot ignore. Over the last 5-10 years, the idea of supporting breast cancer has become part of today's popular culture-- its even known as the "cool cancer" to support. There is so much advertising and in my opinion, noise, with pink ribbons, that people become immune to the real message at hand regarding early detection. Props to this organization for communicating in a simplistic and effective way what the disease really does to the lives of famlies everyday.

[Erika Castro]

I really like the breast cancer promo that they did. It's really effective in making you think more about cancer in general. For me, it's always had a certain personal effect because of the fact that my mother used to suffer cancer and know exactly what you have to go through.
I hope that this promo will educate people to go for check-ups regularly and never let it become a bigger problem. The sooner you can detect it the better. I feel lucky that my mother was able to surpass that difficult time and that I still have her with me.

[Oksana Masterova]

I really enjoyed this ad, and thought it really got the message out there. What I think was most effective was the silence in the commercial. Sometimes words or loud noises distract the viewer from what's really important. This commercial depicted what goes on in thousands of peoples of homes...their ignorance to breast cancer. The overall message was effective and encourages viewers to get tested early.