Five thousand bowel-cancer screening kits erected in Sydney’s Martin Place to form the words Bowel Cancer are the genesis of a new national campaign for The Jodi Lee Foundation launching this week through AJF Partnership Melbourne.

The campaign from The Jodi Lee Foundation is funded by the Australian Government and encourages people from age 50 to screen for the presence of bowel cancer.

Central to the Foundation’s new campaign is a television commercial that was shot in Martin Place. With the words ‘bowel cancer’ made out of the screening kits, people were encouraged to take the kits and as they did, the words disappeared.  The idea is that as screening has such a high success rate, the more people screen, the more bowel cancer may disappear.

Australia has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world, with more than 17,000 people diagnosed each year. By 2020, this number is expected to increase to almost 20,000 bowel cancer cases detected annually. Up to 90% of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated if detected early.

“Many people don’t experience any symptoms of bowel cancer until it has become more advanced or has spread, which is why screening is so important,” said The Jodi Lee Foundation CEO Nick Lee. “A simple screening test that can be completed in the privacy of your own home might just save your life.”

The concept for the TV commercial was developed by AJF Partnership. The sculptural work and film was directed by The Glue Society’s Peter Baker, with production by Will O’Rourke.

Credits

Client Name: Jodi Lee Foundation

Client Executives: Nick Lee (CEO), Tiffany Young (Business Director) Abby Bowden (PR Manager)

Executive Creative Director: Andrew Foote

Creative Director/Copywriter: Michael Skarbek

Creative Director/Art Director: George Freckleton

Head of TV: Roz Ruwhiu

Senior Account Director: Kate Silver

Senior Account Manager: Anne-Marie Healy

Strategy Director: Lucy Cochran

Strategic Planner: Brigitte Bayard

Production Company: Will O’Rourke

Director: The Glue Society (Pete Baker)

Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie

Head of Projects: Josh Mullens

Project Manager: Melanie Reardon

DOP: Rob Marsh

Art Director: Gus Smith

Editor: Laurence van Camp, The Editors

Composer: Paul Ruske, Final Sound