Breast cancer is one of the main causes of death among Dominican women.

Color Vision, one of the most important TV channels, wanted to raise awareness around this deadly subject, but most of all, they wanted people to talk about breasts. In Dominican Republic, women or men do not talk about breasts unless it’s in vulgar terms or as lude jokes. Its like a taboo, not socially accepted.

In October breast cancer messages are everywhere, but not much is said about breasts. We needed to open a conversation between friends, family and couples and turn this taboo around. Because the first thing to solve a problem is to talk about it openly and not hiding it.

Our creative idea was to create a PR action that would make the whole country talk about breasts in a more open way. Thats why we negotiated with Mariasela Alvarez, one of the most respected TV personalities, to do something never before seen in Dominican TV: make her look like she was topless throughout her entire live show. The goal of the idea was to capture the attention of the country, making Mariasela's breasts a trending topic. At the end of the show, she would give a message, with the intent turning the conversation around, creating a bigger discussion to eradicate this taboo.

We had to create a strategy to change the taboo within the country and start talking about breasts more freely. In Dominican Republic TV is the most important medium, preferred by 95% of Dominicans. In the country, media is very strict on nudity or anything that would go agains the our cultures values. We wanted to create a live action that would challenge that. Starting a big conversation, something that would spread like wild fire catching in one hour the attention of the media as well as the nation and then change the conversation.

We negotiated with Mariasela Alvarez, one of the most respected TV personalities, to do something never before seen in Dominican TV: appear to be topless throughout her entire live show. This provoked an immediate reaction on social and traditional channels. The conversation ranged from shock, to jokes, to support, thinking she was making a statement.

In one hour, the country turned Mariasela’s breasts into a trending topic. At the end of the show she gave a message to the country: She was happy that people were talking about her breasts, but suggested they take that time to talk to friends and loved ones about their own breasts, stating that it’s ok to talk about them openly and that we should take care of them through self-examinations. The message wasn’t only for women, she challenged men to care about those important women in their lives and talk about the issue.

The action was applauded on social and traditional media, as well as by health institutions and women’s groups, stating that, “it’s time we start talking about breasts and not only in a sexual way.” Female celebrities and influencers showed support. Some media outlets considered it “one of the best breast cancer campaigns”. It even reached the international press. In a country of 10 million people, more than 4 million joined the conversation in a matter of hours and the action got over 6 million impressions.