The NHS advertising guidelines dictate that as stated in the ISTC Marketing Code, you cannot engage in cinema or television marketing or advertising without the prior consent of the Department of Health and we could not obtain this permission.

The guidelines also state that if you are promoting your services from your own provider website, you must use a dedicated page or microsite for your NHS services which should be branded with the NHS logo and your provider logo.

All materials had to follow the NHS communication principles of being:

Clear and professional: demonstrating pride and authority in what we do.

Cost-effective: showing that budgets have been used wisely.

Straightforward: avoiding gimmicks and over complicated design or wording.

Modern: portraying the NHS in a way that is up to date.

Accessible: understood by the target audience and easily obtainable and available in other languages, symbols or formats.

Honest: avoiding misleading information or false promises.

Respectful: showing respect for our audience, avoiding unfair stereotypes, acknowledging the different needs of individuals and populations.

Breast cancer is an extremely prevalent disease, but if detected early the prognosis is good. Breast

cancer screening is aimed at women aged 50-70 years old. However, the Central and East London

Breast Cancer Screening Service have struggled to get attendance from women aged 50-53.

Women in this area of London vary greatly socioeconomically so we needed to create a very

simple idea that would resonate with women from different backgrounds.

The objective of the campaign was simple; to make a difference in breast cancer awareness by driving early detection and treatment.

The idea had to be executed in a simple and impactful way as well as have the “talkability” factor and drive immediate action. Since the video has aired in on the Central and East London screening website, the response has been very positive. There are now plans to roll this out to hospitals, surgeries and selected women’s’ websites.

Because London is a melting pot of cultures and language the idea needed to be firstly a "visual" one with adaptability text wise to be translated into many different languages. The core idea is in English but easily adapted into Urdu, Sikh and Hindi plus Polish and other Eastern European languages.

Our video demonstrates innovation through its audio and visual impact. There are many communications about breast cancer often associated with the colour pink and are very feminine and soft in terms of style and tone. Our idea truly stands out and talks to women in a very different way. It captures attention in a clever and simple way that makes women feel reassured and in control rather than scared or patronised.

Our silence breast cancer video was tested at a Woman’s Institute focus group and the feedback

was unanimous; it was considered empowering, impactful and memorable.

Our client, Matthew Cruice, Health Promotional Specialist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, was extremely pleased with

the final video and the feedback it received. There are plans to broaden its use beyond the website

and place it on TV screens in GP practices and hospitals in both Camden and Islington.

“The video, produced by McCann Torre Lazur, really managed to capture

message we are trying to alert women to. Rather than the thought of cancer

being alarming, if we can encourage women to be more aware of signs and symptoms, their own

bodies and services such as breast screening, then more early diagnoses will be made. Today, an

early diagnosis is likely to lead to a full recovery”.

Matthew Cruice, Health Promotion Specialist

We also wanted to create strong visual stopping power – this is achieved through the alarm bells representing an alarming situation in the breasts. It is intentional that the alarm bells are silenced at the same time that the reassuring text about breast cancer screening appears. The text purposefully remains simple so that the take home message is clear.

The idea appeared as a "wake up call" on the web site to shock women and then reassure them to get themselves checked out

In order to raise awareness of breast cancer screening and the importance of early detection the idea had to be executed in a simple and impactful way as well as have the “talkability” factor. The video needed to be disruptive in order to gain immediate attention – this is achieved through the ringing alarm bells.