Pink Ribbon: Naked Breasts On Facebook Against Breast Cancer

Credits & Description:

Check It Before Its Removed
Agency: Ddb Group Germany
Brand: Pink Ribbon Germany
Country: Germany
Advertising Agency: Ddb Group Germany, Berlin
Entrant Company: Ddb Group Germany, Berlin
Media Agency: Ddb Group Germany, Berlin
Pr Agency: Ddb Group Germany, Berlin
Production Company: Ddb Group Germany, Berlin
Programmer: Bleech Ug, Berlin (Bleech Ug, Berlin)
Creative Director Digital: Konradin Resa (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Account Manager: Paul Dombek (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Junior Copywriter: Taria Hocke (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Junior Corporate Communications Manager: Timo Giersch (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Executive Creative Director: Tom Hauser (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Junior Planner: Tom Hormann (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Chief Creative Officer: Eric Schoeffler (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Creative Managing Director: Myles Lord (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Filmmaker, Cinematographer And Director: Zhong To (Freelancer)
Art Buying: Behind The Scenes Gmbh, Berlin (Behind The Scenes Gmbh, Berlin)
Client Service Director: David Barton (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Head Of Corporate Communications: Laura Marolt (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Artist Liaison: Artist Liaison Agency Special Key, Berlin (Artist Liaison Agency Special Key, Berlin)
Account Director: Catrin Schmid (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Senior Copywriter: Edward Sedelius (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Photographer: Hannes Caspar (Hannes Caspar)
Auszubildende Kauffrau Für Marketingkommunikation, Beratung: Nabila Korte (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Social Media Manager: Philipp Ciba (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Senior Designer: Marc Kaufholz (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Junior Art Director: Isabella Jorgensen (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Senior Art Director: Lilli Langenheim (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Creative Director Copy: Nikolai Diepenbrock (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Illustrator: Sebastian Hudert (Ddb Group Germany Gmbh)
Outcome:
On International Women’s Day Pink Ribbon’s awareness message reached 29 Million contacts, the equivalent of €2.2 Million in earned media. With a media spend of 0- Euro.On March 8, traffic to Pink Ribbon’s breast cancer awareness information increased by 27,984%.The 3 minute breast self-examination tutorial video on the website had a 92% view-through rate.Due to public opinion and increasing media attention, Facebook and Instagram stopped removing the posts, allowing the message to continue reaching more and more young women.
Campaign Description:
Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram strictly prohibit the display of female nipples. On International Women’s Day 2016, 17 brave women challenged these restrictions. They each bared a naked breast on Facebook and Instagram, urging all women to “Check it before it’s removed”. Pink Ribbon Germany, together with female social influencers, shared the pictures with their online communities on Facebook and Instagram. National and international celebrities, singers, bloggers and athletes shared the pictures with millions of their followers, encouraging them to quickly re-share the posts before they were censored by moderators.In a matter of hours, Facebook and Instagram began deleting the posts. But as the pictures were removed from social media, the buzz and awareness around the story was building in mainstream media.
Strategy:
To reach our target audience of younger women, we went to a place where young women are most active – Facebook and Instagram. The very places where breasts would be removed. By triggering Facebook and Instagrams strict censorship policies, we were able to create a strong analogy and demonstrate the urgency of the issue. Because these posts would have a very short life expectancy we needed to quickly spread the pictures far and wide with the help of social influencers: female celebrities who came together to create a viral wave of posts on International Women’s Day and activate their followers to quickly re-share before they were removed. The removal of images added fuel to the existing discussion around “free the nipple”, social censorship and gender equality – making Pink Ribbons message a strong topic in the media on International Women’s Day.
Execution:
17 German women of varying ages and ethnicity posed for a photographer exposing one of their breasts. These pictures were then posted to Facebook and Instagram with the statement: CHECK IT BEFORE IT’S REMOVED. Each post was accompanied by text encouraging others to quickly re-share the post before it was censored. Each post lead to the website www.checkitbeforeitsremoved.com where people could learn about breast self-examination. Pink Ribbon Germany shared the first picture on their Facebook fan page on March 8, International Women’s Day. Throughout the day, national celebrities and influencers continued to share Pink Ribbon’s pictures to millions of their fans, encouraging them to quickly re-share. Facebook and Instagram began to remove the pictures immediately. Even Pink Ribbon themselves had their posts deleted for contravening Facebook and Instagram’s strict guidelines. And as the pictures were removed from social media, the story and awareness continued to build in mainstream media.
Synopsis:
Breast cancer affects one in eight women in their lifetime. Early detection is key in fighting the disease. Pink Ribbon Germany wants to urge young women to start checking their breasts regularly.