One in eight women will get breast cancer.

As a statistic on a page, it is one that women can too often ignore. We needed to make it real.

We found that the softly, softly approach hadn’t worked. Even Avon Romania hadn't been promoting breast cancer awareness successfully, with previous campaigns we failed to shake women’s view that “It won’t happen to me”.We shook that view. Everywhere that women went, we bought up every eighth chair, turned it bright pink and forced women to see the danger and to consider the likelihood of them suffering from the disease.

Women were clearly uncomfortable and self-conscious sitting in the 1in8 seats, and they were often left empty – showing how this vital message was finally getting under women’s skin. Campaign awareness (including of the need for regular medical check-ups) rose to 87% from 57% after previous campaigns.

We bought up one in eight seats at popular hairdressing salons, at cinemas, on the subway and on the trolley car.

They were all branded with our blunt “1in8 women” message, which read: “Undetected in time, breast cancer can kill. Go to the doctor now.” We reinforced the impact of the campaign with testimonials from women who have survived breast cancer, using women’s magazines and television slots, and we also placed online commercials featuring local celebrities.

Our aim was to reach women going about their daily lives, surprising them with an important message that they might otherwise choose to avoid.

We also knew that our audience, once engaged, could be persuaded to support breast cancer awareness campaigns, and to take the message to their friends. Some 10,000 clicked through cybermercial to register their support.