Host of female artists re-record Divinyls’ I Touch Myself to encourage women to check for breast cancer
A group of high-profile female singers have come together to re-record Chrissy Amphlett’s I Touch Myself in a bid to highlight the need for women to regularly check themselves for breast cancer.
The new campaign for the Cancer Council, through JWT Sydney and Soap Creative, features artists including Olivia Newton John, Megan Washington, Sarah McLeod, Katie Noonan and Sarah Blasko, who have taken part in the two-and-a-half minute music video re-recording the song from the Aussie vocalist who died from breast cancer on April 21, 2013.
As part of the campaign the charity has made that date I Touch Myself day, to encourage women to check themselves for signs of the disease.
Simon Langley, ECD of JWT Sydney said: “It’s a shocking fact that so many Australian women develop breast cancer, so as a tribute to Chrissy we approached her husband and fellow band member, Charley Drayton, with the idea of turning her song I Touch Myself into a breast cancer anthem to help continue to raise awareness of the disease.
“When Chrissy sang ‘I Touch Myself’, you couldn’t help but listen. Now the I Touch Myself project makes sure her voice is heard loud and clear for a different reason, for breast cancer prevention.”
The full version can be seen here.
The campaign will be seeded through social media using #itouchmyself as well as digital, billboards, a website and a PR campaign managed by Hill + Knowlton Strategies.
Kathy Chapman, director of cancer programs for Cancer Council NSW said: “Through this campaign we are encouraging women to get to know their breasts better, to know what is normal for them and to participate in breast screening if they’re in the right agerange.
“At different ages there are various steps women can take to help detect breast cancer early, however at any age if women have any concerns they should contact their doctor.”
Creative credits:
JWT Sydney
ECD: Simon Langley & Mark Harricks
ECD: Simon Langley & Mark Harricks
General Manger: Jenny Willits
Agency Producer: Vicky Ryan
Senior Art Director: Alexandra Antoniou
Senior Writers: Sylvianne Heim; Sinead Roarty
Senior Writers: Sylvianne Heim; Sinead Roarty
Account Management: Paul Everson; Caroline Ludwell; Monica Tobin; Ali Clemesha
TV Production: Tommie McSweeney
Executive Planning Director: Angela Morris
Digital Strategy: Trevor Crossman
Directors: Daniel Askill, Lorin Askill & Joel Pront
Producers: Charity Downing; Rachael Ford
Producers: Charity Downing; Rachael Ford-Davies
SOAP creative
Creative Partner: Brad Eldridge
Technology Director: Mark Fennel
Senior Digital Producer: Charlotte Ludlow
Executive Creative Director – Digital: Ashadi Hopper
It’s “Divinyls”
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Where are Collective Gout when you need them?
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Love Chrissy, love the Divinyls and really love the approach of this campaign which shows women of all ages and various races, focusing on the women and not their ‘boobs’.
The follow up bit asking women to touch their breasts and post a pic to social media feels like it was tacked on at the last minute by some enthusiastic ‘guru’ and is completely pointless. And it has the potential to become overtly sexualised and go very wrong, thus negating a lot of the power behind the original message. Not everything needs a selfie hashtag to gain social media traction. Its a trap and you’ve fallen into it.
Let the music video speak for itself. Dump the silly hashtag strategy.
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Am I daft? Not seeing where women are being asked to touch their breasts and post a pic? Isn’t the hashtag to propagate the video?
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There’s a second video with a call to action for instagram selfies.
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I’ve watched the video a few times now – the singing is just beautiful! But I also didn’t pick up on the breast selfie thing @AdGrunt, definitely no mention of it in the YouTube clip. It’s funny though, I showed a colleague the video and commented how moving it is but how it’s lacking a strong enough call to action. The mysterious selfie thing might be the answer had it been more visible.
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Nice work Alex! Brilliantly executed.
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Well done ladies. It’s such a powerful message. Well done
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Excellent idea, and brilliantly executed! Stopped me in my tracks! And hey, in terms of ROI / effectiveness – there’s no financials involved!
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