The hook
The first three seconds don’t behave like a public health announcement. The opening is slow and deliberately steamy, borrowing the polished feel of premium shower advertising before the message lands: while you’re in the shower, you may as well check yourself.
The structure of the film
The 60-second hero film keeps things simple. There’s no lecture and no clinical demonstration. It holds attention with a very slow, very soapy shower, then attaches a direct instruction to a moment many women already have alone. Oscar-nominated production designer Ra Vincent built the set, and actor Xavier Garneau-Roughan leads the film.
The idea and the brief
Special shaped the survey commissioned by Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, conceived the idea and carried it through creative, production and advertising as a philanthropic effort. The brief needed a director who could handle a sensitive health subject with humour, nuance and cultural relevance, so the agency approached Taika Waititi, who joined the campaign in-kind.
The survey of 1,000 women found:
- 94% agree regular breast checking is important
- 82% say it is easy to forget
- Only 37% had checked in the past month
- Nearly seven in ten said nothing in their routine reminds them
The team attached breast checking to the shower because more than half of women who had checked said that’s where they last did it. Instead of asking women to create more time, the strategy repurposes existing “me time”, as Special Head of Strategy Bethany Omeri puts it.
Waititi says the cause is personal: “Breast cancer has affected many people in my life, including my mother and mother-in-law, so my involvement in this project was never in question.”
Where it is running
The 60” hero leads across TV, cinema, BVOD, SVOD, radio and social, with OOH and digital placements handled by PHD. The prompt also travels into places where action is immediate: gym showers and bathroom shelves. Glow Lab has added breast-check reminders to its entire 900ml body wash range from launch day.
Special PR supported the launch with a three-tier influencer programme, rallying Breast Cancer Foundation NZ ambassadors, earned creators and paid talent, backed by a global earned media push.
Steal this
Three moves for a smaller brand:
- Attach the behaviour to an existing ritual. Don’t ask people to add a new habit; find a routine they already own.
- Place the prompt where the action happens. Glow Lab’s 900ml bottle puts the reminder in the shower, not in a feed.
- Find a messenger with the right emotional register. Taika Waititi’s offbeat warmth makes the topic approachable without losing the message.
Watch the original: Breast Cancer Foundation NZ on YouTube
Source: Campaign Brief
