Kidney Health Australia has gone all in on toilet humour for a serious cause, launching a national media campaign called ‘Taking The Piss’.
Today Kidney Health Australia launched the campaign with a cheeky animation and song about the importance of testing for kidney disease, calling on Australians to ask their GP for a urine test as part of a Kidney Health Check.
An animated character, Peet, is the star of the video. He sings about his regret of not having done a piss test earlier, and how he’s ended up hooked up to a dialysis machine to stay alive. Kidney Health Australia’s aim is to spread the word through humour rather than through fear, connecting a common phrase with the behaviour change needed to diagnose kidney disease earlier.
The creative concepts and custom song are the brainchild of Good One Creative.
The campaign will run across YouTube and Meta nationwide from August 2 to August 30, supported by outdoor and convenience ads delivered by AdRoom, with PR strategy from Stamping Ground.
“We needed something loud enough to cut through, because the message is not getting across, so we’re using humour to cut through the stigma, and get people finally talking about kidney disease,” said Kidney Health Australia CEO, Chris Forbes.
“A staggering 77 per cent of people at risk of kidney disease have not had a kidney piss test in the last 24 months. We need Australians at risk to literally take the piss, so we developed a campaign to get the message across.
“On August 13, we officially launch The Great Australian Piss Take in Melbourne’s CBD, urging Australians to come get an on the spot urine risk assessment supported by Flinders University’s International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing. It’s free, it’ s quick, and there is no excuse not to take the piss.”
Kidney disease is common, serious and largely invisible. Over 2.5 million Australians are living with markers of kidney disease and don’ t know it.
A Kidney Health Check consists of three simple checks, a blood test, a blood pressure check and a urine test (uACR) – yet the urine test is the one most commonly overlooked.
“Taking the piss works because it’s actionable and memorable. You can lose 90 per cent of your kidney function without even knowing. That’s a pretty shocking stat…so if people are shocked by this campaign, we’ve done our job,” said Charlie Howcroft, founder and creative director of Good One.
Shane Jacobson has been engaged as a campaign ambassador and will feature at The Great Australian Piss Take activation in the Melbourne CBD on Thursday, August 13.
Kidney Health Australia is also working directly with GPs, providing education and resources to ensure they’re ready to support patients with any questions on urine testing.
Credits:
Client – Kidney Health Australia
Agency – Good One
Creative Director – Charlie Howcroft
Account Director – Harriet Renn
Producer – Lawrence Phelan
Director & Composition – Matt Wallace
Sound Production – Nick Grifa
Peet / Lead Male – Matt Wallace
Kidney 1 – Harriet Renn
Kidney 2 – Tom Sutherland
Chorus – Savannah Koz, Tige Ryan, Will Middlemiss
Saxophone – James Tran
Trombone – Charlie Howcroft
Trumpet – Jeremy Phillips
Sound Design – Abes Audio
Animation Studio: Dirty Puppet
Animation Director: Cameron Gough
Art Direction & Illustration: Annika Fleur
3D Design Lead: Edwina Joel
2D Animation: Jon Asquith & Cameron Gough
Storyboards and Illustration: Taryn Borgford
