Self Chec Love Yourself First

Self Chec is an organisation dedicated to raising personal awareness and action related to cancers and other chronic diseases in the United States. Recently they ran a controversial print and outdoor advertising campaign encouraging people to love themselves first, featuring what could be perceived to sexual messages but in fact are calls to check for breast, penis and testicular cancers. “Love yourself first. Save lives. Start with yourself. selfchec.org” The hope is that the campaign will be felt by millions, and those millions of people, in turn, will start feeling themselves.

Self chec’s advertising campaign, launched in December 2010, was created to shock the public into action. Joan Peckolick, founder and director of Self chec, said, “Some people will get the message behind the ads immediately, and others may find them indecent and offensive. If the Pope can talk about the use of condoms to prevent AIDS, we can surely talk about breasts and penises to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases. We are simply educating the public so they can overcome their fear and hesitation in order to save their lives.”

Some people will get it right away. Others will see it as another gratuitous, indecent ad. But, it’s not. It’s a way of teaching the public about what they need to do to keep healthy from cancers and other chronic diseases. If you think about it, what’s really indecent, is that over 1 million Americans die each year from cancers, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. And what’s more, these chronic diseases are often preventable, treatable and curable.

Credits

The Felt By Millions campaign was developed pro bono at Arnold Worldwide, Boston, by chief creative officer Pete Favat, executive creative director Roger Baldacci, art director Chuck Seelye, copywriter Carolyn Zigmund, photographer Guido Vitti, production manager Diane Brito, art producer Andrea Ricker, project manager Madeline Groman, business affairs manager Lisa Mercier, account services team Barb Reilly and Victoria Shonkoff.

“The concept behind the ‘Felt by Millions’ campaign is powerful and simple,” said Pete Favat, Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Arnold Worldwide’s Boston office. “Use arresting visuals and tone to raise awareness about Self check examinations. You can tell someone repeatedly they need to be proactive about their health and they still won’t take it seriously. We intentionally designed this campaign to create buzz and shock the public into action. Our hope is that this campaign will be felt by millions, and in turn, those millions will feel themselves for early detection.”