Talking Sh!t
The Talking Sh!t Show was born from the simple insight that Australians over 50 love to talk shit, but struggled talking about their health.
The Challenge
The Jodi Lee Foundation are a not-for-profit entirely dedicated to preventing bowel cancer through raising awareness of the impact early detection can have on a bowel cancer prognosis.
A life-saving initiative, National Bowel Cancer Screening kits are sent to every Australian between the ages of 50-74. It’s a free test that has the potential to save your life.
Less than half of these kits are returned – and that rate has remained unchanged despite numerous advertising campaigns. The Jodi Lee Foundation and the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing came to kwpx for an entirely different, integrated idea that could help them change this stat.
The Solution
Merv Hughes was originally slated for a talking tour of Australia’s remote and regional pubs, but COVID-19 had other plans.
With the speaking tour cancelled, Jodi Lee Foundation asked kwpx to re-imagine ‘Talking Sh!t‘ as a digital campaign and take Merv to the regions, online.
The Talking Sh!t Show was born from the simple insight that Australians over 50 love to talk shit, but struggle talking about their health. Hosted by Merv Hughes, contestants Richard Wilkins, Wendy Harmer, Gavin Wanganeen and Dr Ginni Mansberg discuss all things turning 50, while creating a positive atmosphere and attitude toward the life-saving envelope.
Designed to cut-through and disrupt the social newsfeeds and YouTube browsing behaviour of 50-something regional and rural Australians, this “Would I Lie To You?”-inspired gameshow sought to win over its target market by giving them something entertaining, before asking them to do something life-saving.
Paired with strategic media placements and a performance-driven digital campaign, The Talking Sh!t Show leveraged its celebrity influencers to disarm the cynical target market and connect with the community on this sensitive topic.
The Result
When Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler MP, launched the Talking Sh!t Show, saying, “No-one talks more shit than a politician…” we knew we had something special that stakeholders at every level could support.
Launched in June 2022, the fun and frivolous format has engaged audiences across Australia.
The campaign objective of raising awareness has been achieved with digital platforms exceeding targets.
Importantly, and somewhat unexpectedly, we are seeing real results already with hundreds of National Bowel Cancer Screening kits being re-ordered. Dwell time online is high, averaging out at 2:45 for the Talking Sh!t Show page. Of course, the main aim was to improve returns of the test – however these results won’t be tallied for 12 months.
Merv Hughes has helped to normalise the discussion around Bowel Cancer: the second deadliest cancer in Australia.
