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Non-Fungible Testicles: The Path to MRM's Breakthrough Idea
See the agency's THx process in action
This piece is part of a series of articles written by 2022 Clio Awards supporting partners about recent projects they’re proud of—internal or external—that are making a positive difference in the industry or in the world. See more articles from the series here.
Have you ever noticed that culture is obsessed with intersections? Think movie descriptions (“It’s Top Gun meets Transformers”), music mashups (Megan Thee Stallion x Future is Pressurelicious) and anything that defies genre (Euphoria was a show that became makeup that became a whole vibe).
I’m obsessed with intersections, too. In my role at MRM, we have a very specific way we help brands make the most of them. We call it Total Human Experience (THx), and it’s how we tap into strategy, creativity, data and technology to solve the human problems that sit at their intersection.
So, when we learned that the men’s health organization Movember wanted to do more on testicular cancer—the No. 1 cancer among young men—we identified some unexpected intersections.
Intersection #1: Men believe their testicles are special! So, we asked ourselves, what else is as special or unique? In 2021, the answer was clear: non-fungible tokens, as non-fungible means non-copyable. Just like men feel about their balls!
Intersection #2: Both tokens and balls need monitoring. People monitor their NFTs—to see if they’re worth more or less, if others have bought similar ones, etc.—to the tune of trading that increased 21,000 percent to $17 billion from 2020 to 2021. In contrast, 62 percent of men most at risk for testicular cancer don’t know how to monitor themselves.
At these intersections, the idea of a new kind of NFT, non-fungible testicles, was born. Featuring an exclusive collection of 8,000 digital testicles designed by iconic NFT artists at Mishka NYC, non-fungible testicles gamified ownership. Check on your balls in your connected wallet on the program website and get rewarded; ignore them and lose value—just like in real life. The drop and game mechanics were promoted across all social platforms, including those most relevant to the NFT community, prompting a seamless mint and a Total Human Experience.
Non-fungible testicles aren’t just NFTs, they’re the first NFTs that can save your life. Newsworthy indeed. With over 1 billion views through media articles, we had men learning and talking about checking their balls. The team won a Silver Health & Wellness Cannes Lion for its efforts, which spiked awareness and action further. And a portion of the proceeds went to support vital testicular cancer research, turning Web 3.0 blockchain technology into a new way to fight cancer.
MRM didn’t know what we would find when we thought about testicles and NFTs. But we were able to create great value from their intersection—for the health of the Movember movement, and importantly, for the wellbeing of the world.
