Cancer Council NSW: I Touch Myself Project
Cancer Council NSW wanted to significantly increase breast cancer awareness and encourage women to perform regular self-examinations. The client needed a bold, memorable campaign to overcome societal reluctance and taboos around breast health. The challenge was to create an impactful message that resonated deeply, driving early detection and ultimately saving lives.
Creative Idea
Cancer Council NSW repurposed the Divinyls' provocative hit 'I Touch Myself' to urge women to perform breast self-examinations.
Cancer Council NSW turned the Divinyls' hit song "I Touch Myself" into a powerful breast cancer awareness campaign, using the song's provocative lyrics to encourage women to perform self-examinations and detect breast cancer early.
Turning a Provocative Rock Anthem into a Life Saving Ritual
From Taboo to Trending Topic
The campaign achieved a staggering global reach of 1.25 billion people by its 2018 phase, but its most impressive feat was its efficiency. The 2014 launch operated on a $0 media budget, relying entirely on organic social sharing and PR to generate $7 million in earned media within just two weeks. This cultural saturation led to tangible behavioral shifts: 42.4% of surveyed women credited the campaign for prompting their first-ever breast self-check, while general conversation regarding self-detection surged by 252%.
Three Takes and a Global Anthem
The production brought together elite creative talent, including director Daniel Askill - famous for Sia’s "Chandelier" - and music producer Charley Drayton, the husband of the late Chrissy Amphlett. When the project expanded globally in 2018, Serena Williams famously recorded her vocal performance in just three takes, performing for free to support the cause. The original songwriters - Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg, and Mark McEntee - also waived all royalties, allowing the track to become a permanent charity anthem.
Challenging the Silicon Valley Bias
In 2020, the project evolved to tackle technological gender bias. The team discovered that digital assistants like Siri and Alexa could provide detailed information on male-centric health issues like testicular cancer but often failed to provide instructions for breast self-exams. Featuring Karen Jacobsen, the original Australian voice of Siri, this phase forced a re-coding of AI responses across major tech platforms. This effort ensured that the "I Touch Myself" message wasn't just a social media trend, but a permanent fixture in the digital health landscape.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
The brand possessed the medical authority to issue health directives and the exclusive blessing of Chrissy Amphlett’s estate to repurpose her iconic musical legacy. This allowed them to bridge the gap between clinical advice and provocative pop culture.
Category
The category traditionally relies on clinical, fear-based, or sanitized messaging that avoids any mention of sexuality or pleasure. Most breast cancer PSAs are instructional and sterile, often failing to create an emotional or habitual connection with the audience.
Customer
Women often view self-examinations with clinical detachment or anxiety, seeing it as a frightening chore rather than a positive habit. There was a need to transform a scary medical necessity into a normalized, empowering act of bodily autonomy.
Culture
The passing of rock icon Chrissy Amphlett created a wave of national nostalgia and a desire to honor her legacy. The campaign leveraged the '90s spirit of female empowerment and the collective memory of a song that already celebrated touching one's self.
Company
The brand possessed the medical authority to issue health directives and the exclusive blessing of Chrissy Amphlett’s estate to repurpose her iconic musical legacy. This allowed them to bridge the gap between clinical advice and provocative pop culture.
Category
The category traditionally relies on clinical, fear-based, or sanitized messaging that avoids any mention of sexuality or pleasure. Most breast cancer PSAs are instructional and sterile, often failing to create an emotional or habitual connection with the audience.
Strategy:
Repurpose a provocative anthem of sexual agency into a life-saving ritual of self-care and cultural tribute.
Customer
Women often view self-examinations with clinical detachment or anxiety, seeing it as a frightening chore rather than a positive habit. There was a need to transform a scary medical necessity into a normalized, empowering act of bodily autonomy.
Culture
The passing of rock icon Chrissy Amphlett created a wave of national nostalgia and a desire to honor her legacy. The campaign leveraged the '90s spirit of female empowerment and the collective memory of a song that already celebrated touching one's self.
Strategy:
Repurpose a provocative anthem of sexual agency into a life-saving ritual of self-care and cultural tribute.
Strategy Technique
Attack a Cultural Blind Spot
The campaign boldly confronted societal taboos and reluctance surrounding breast health. It used a provocative song to force a crucial, often avoided, conversation about self-examination.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Use a famous song
The campaign leveraged a well-known, provocative song to reframe its meaning. This instantly captured attention and made the sensitive topic memorable and approachable.
Explore Technique
