'Know Yourself' to Catch Breast Cancer Early, Says CoppaFeel

Sometimes, it’s all in the name. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and CoppaFeel, a U.K.-based breast cancer charity, is pushing for young people 18-24 to get in touch with their bodies … by touching their bodies.  

The “Know Yourself” campaign was developed following in-house research from CoppaFeel that found one in five young adults would delay a doctor’s visit because of Covid, even if they discovered symptoms that should be examined.

A 60-second ad, created by agency Fold7, is a series of vignettes featuring body exploration.

Beginning with a man looking in a mirror, the ad pivots to a woman looking at moles on her back and a trans man adjusting his binding.

Stomach rubbing, collarbone touching, armpit smelling, butt grabbing, leg hair scratching, and curve caressing round out the spot, which concludes with a woman touching her preventative lumpectomy scar.

“Breast cancer can affect any body. Knowing yours could save your life.”

“Coppafeel is all about early diagnosis,” Yelena Gaufman, strategy partner at Fold7, tells Muse. “That’s a huge point of difference that carries great significance. Young people don’t check their boobs because they think they don’t know how to. We want to give them confidence by making it feel simple, and part of what they’re already doing—getting to know their bodies. Knowing your body and what’s normal for you means you can do something if you see a change. Knowing your body puts you in control and hopefully gives you the confidence to advocate for yourself.”

The campaign includes print and outdoor elements, where the human body is reminiscent of a landscape map complete with geographical contour lines across the skin. A public exhibit of the photos, taken by photographer Kristina Varaksina on Fujifilm, can be seen at the Fujifilm House of Photography in central London this month.

“This campaign is a celebration of youth, exploration and becoming a student of your own body,” says Sinéad Molloy, head of marketing at CoppaFeel.

CREDITS

Client: CoppaFeel
Title: Know Yourself
Agency: Fold7
CCO: Jon Burley
Creative: Kiran Strickland & Jo Taylor
D&AD Shift Collective: Iman Syad, Amelia McDonald, Alysa Browne and Juan Gruber
Senior Account Management: Annie Allen
Head of TV Production: Michelle Hickey
Production Assistant: Izy Brand
Design: Alex Gill

Production Company: PRETTYBIRD UK
Exec Producer: Juliette Larthe
Director: Jess Kohl
Producer: Paulette Caletti
Production Manager: Benji Landman
Production Assistant/ Covid supervisor: Enrique Da Silva
1st Assistant Director: Laura del Carrion
2nd Assistant Director: Connor Joyce
Runner: Julian Yaw

Casting: Hannah Ashby Ward & Grace Hudson, Lane Casting

Director of Photography: Olan Collardy
Focus Puller: Mairead Albiston
Clapper Loader: Joshua Dadson
Camera Trainee: Scarlett Gardner
DIT: Barry Jarman

Gaffer: Lee Parfitt
Driver/Electrician: Kev Roberts
Electrician: Joshua Loudon

Art Department: Syd Harmony 
Wardrobe: Sara Tazor
Hair/Make-up Artist: Georgia Hope
Hair/Make-up Assistant: Emily Burrill

Intimacy Coordinator: Sara Green
Edit Company: The Assembly Room
Editor: Andrew Cross
Edit Assistant: Kevin Corry
Producer: Joshua Gochez

Post-Production: ETC
Colourist: Jason Wallis
Post-Producer: Oliver Whitworth / Claudia Carmichael

Sound Company: Wave Studios
Sound Engineer: Jonny Platt

Music Company: The Music Lab
Composed by Georgie Wells and Jack Chown
Music Supervision by Dave Goulding

Camera supplied by: Panavision
Lighting Supplied by: Lee Lighting
DIT Equipment: Edward Films

Talent:
Woman Reclining: Lucy Lepe
Sofa Shot: Georgelene Elliott
Garden Reader: Maya Felix
Bubble Bather: Melvin Boateng – St James
Phone in bedroom: Aliona Kolesnikova
Examines Face: Rico J Chase
Hair Proud: Isabelle Suwan
Moisturising: Glory Olanrewaju
Mirror Stretching: Aaron Baksh
Embraces Body: Amelie Roch
Lipstick Selfie: Ellie Goldstein