Highly Commended
Check Your Chaps
Summary of work
Testicular cancer is statistically the most common cancer in young men in the UK, mainly affecting those aged 15-45. Research also found that only 30% of women were confident in checking their partner for the symptoms of testicular cancer. If caught early, the disease can be 98% curable so male cancer charity, Orchid, wanted to raise awareness and educate how to perform self-checks, focusing on two key audiences: 1) young men; 2) women, to help spot the signs.
A partnership with ITV’s Lorraine show devised an educational segment called ‘Check Your Chaps’, whereby Dr Hilary Jones hosted a live testicular examination - a first for UK breakfast TV, creating headline news. Media outreach followed, with a targeted focus on broadcast to capture the attention of younger men, while regional broadcast news was a key platform for case studies, communicating the role women could play.
The result? The campaign sparked a national sensation, placing testicular cancer high on the news agenda and generating extensive national coverage. Conversations online achieved high levels of engagement, the hashtag ‘#checkyourchaps’ trended on Twitter. These conversations showed an increase in awareness - one viewer reported her husband started treatment for testicular cancer following the campaign.
Judges’ comments
This was a really solid programme, based on good insights and a well thought through strategy. They nailed the social and mainstream media impact - the reach was phenomenal; trending number six on Twitter is particularly impressive. It was a massive achievement to link/partner with an ITV programme and Radio 1 and the judges loved the strapline – Check your Chaps!
