Movember has unveiled a creative campaign for 2026 Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, confronting the infamous reason men around the world avoid a prostate cancer check: their belief that a check requires a finger up the bum.
Developed in-house by Movember in conjunction with CREATIVITY&COMMERCE, the campaign centres on an image certain to grab attention — a fearful man bent over, braced for the worst — paired with the line “Don’t let an old myth put you in this position”.
The ad then achieves what the myth prevents: it explains what a prostate cancer check actually involves, and who should be having the conversation with their doctor.
The insight is blunt. But it needs to be because many men still assume a prostate check means a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE), and quietly decide it can wait. In practice, a PSA blood test can be the first-line test.
The gap between what men imagine and what actually happens and then avoiding the doctor visit is costing lives — prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in Australia, where the lifetime risk is one in five. And even higher for some men like those with a family history or Black ancestry.
Rather than fear mongering, the work simply shows the myth for what it is: outdated. The tone is matter-of-fact. The humour is subtle. And the strategic bet is that dismantling a dangerous assumption is more useful than escalating a well-known anxiety.
“Men aren’t avoiding prostate cancer checks because they don’t care. They’re avoiding them because of something they think is going to happen that, in most cases, simply isn’t,” said Sam McKeown, director of global cancer research and implementation, Movember. “If
we can replace that assumption with an accurate picture of what a check involves, we remove the persistent myth standing between a man and a conversation with his doctor.
CREATIVITY&COMMERCE founder and creative director, Justin Drape, said: “ This project is driven by an important purpose so we aimed to create work that will stand out and, most importantly, drive action. So hearing a number of men involved in the production process admit they had no idea a prostate check was this easy and say they’re now going to get checked – allowed us to witness the concept working in real time. ”
Final executions feature a diverse range of men — a deliberate choice given risk is not evenly distributed. In Australia, men are advised to speak to a doctor about testing from age 50; from 45 for men at higher risk, including Black men of sub-Saharan African ancestry and men with a family history of prostate cancer.
The work is aimed squarely at men aged 40 to 65 — the window in which the conversation is most useful and might be avoided.
Concept testing found that exposure alone shifted attitudes and beliefs, which has shaped an unapologetically reach-first media strategy: the campaign was directed by Dave Klaiber and photographed by Filip Konikowski via Positive Ape and is targeting 12 million men globally, running across OOH, radio, digital and social from 1 September 2026.
Prostate cancer was Movember’s first cause area in 2003. The organisation has since invested AUD $629 million across 864 projects globally, working toward two goals: reducing mortality and improving quality of life for men living with the disease.
CREDITS:
Movember
• Sarah Weller – Global Director of Prostate Cancer, Movember
• Sam McKeown – Director of Global Cancer Research and Implementation, Movember
• Bree Earle – Global Campaign Lead, Movember
• Natalie Davey – Chief Marketing Officer, Movember
• Ben Miles – Global Director Brand and Digital Marketing, Movember
• Justin Drape – Creative Director, CREATIVITY&COMMERCE
• Dave Klaiber – Director
• Tim Kindler – Director of Photography
• Jason Byrne – Producer, Positive Ape
• Caitlin Devos – Production Manager, Positive Ape
• Filip Konikowski – Stills Photographer, Positive Ape
• Vanessa Elliott – Global Head of Studio, Movember
• Darren Perara – Global Creative Lead, Movember
• Kevin Lai – Senior Copywriter, Movember
• Genevieve Boisjoly – Project Manager, Movember
• Joe Patchett – Content Producer, Movember
• Georgia Robbins – AUNZ Campaign Lead, Movember
• Louise Fennelly – AUNZ PR Lead, Movember
