A Pink MINI, Roundabouts and a Message for Breast Cancer Awareness
In much of the world, October 2021 marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in a bid to highlight this and ensure that women are regularly checking themselves for signs of the disease, Serviceplan Middle East came up with an innovative campaign. They reimagined the traditional MINI in a more traditionally feminine manner with a bright pink exterior. But, in a bid to really hammer home the message they used roundabouts and the message ‘circle around, look for unusual bumps’ to ensure that women carry out regular checks on their breasts.
The agency also teamed up with breast cancer survivor and stylist Dina Aman to test-drive the car with female MINI lovers to hear all about her experiences with breast cancer and raise further awareness. To hear more, LBB’s Natasha Patel caught up with Serviceplan Middle East’s account manager Gonca Gorgulu who shared her experiences on the campaign.
Where the idea came from
“At Serviceplan Middle East we came up with this idea where we wanted to raise awareness for breast cancer in the UAE, and MINI with its rebellious spirit and large female audience was the perfect match. Globally, although breast cancer represents one in four of all cancers affecting women, it’s still perceived as a taboo subject for many. In the UAE breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and in 2020 alone, there were 1,030 new cases diagnosed in the country, with 222 individuals succumbing to it. This campaign’s main purpose was to encourage women to perform regular self-examinations towards early detection.”
Why an iconic car in pink was the perfect way to portray the message
“Largely these conversations are done behind closed doors, so we wanted to bring this topic to the public eye and ensure that the car plays an active role for this purpose. Our approach for this was to use a clever visual pun, where the roundabouts are used as a metaphor for breast examinations — and what’s better than a pink MINI to do it with!
“These roundabout checks not only gave us great exposure with onlookers during the test drives, but also made sure the films had a shareability element. Hopefully this will serve as a reminder for all women to check themselves, as early detection saves lives.
“Our test drivers got the opportunity to have a no-holds-barred conversation with breast cancer survivor and stylist Dina Amin. It encouraged women to have open conversations about this not-so comfortable topic, as they performed the roundabout check across Dubai streets with the pink MINI.”
A campaign close to the agency’s heart
“Although we’ve worked on several creative campaigns for MINI in the past, this was the first time where we got a chance to work on a campaign that was so close to our hearts, and something that goes beyond the product and features of the car. MINI is all about Big Love, this means having an optimistic attitude to life, and inspiring a world of positive action. This campaign beautifully brings together all the values of MINI as a brand, while showcasing the best of creativity.
“MINI’s always been passionate about creativity with a cause. We are grateful for our clients who believed in the idea and supported us all the way throughout the campaign. Needless to say, we will always be committed to doing meaningful work.
“Through this campaign, we hope we were able to make a difference in the life of at least one woman with a MINI reminder to check themselves and have difficult conversations openly, and encourage other women to do the roundabout check.”
Working with stylist, mother and breast cancer survivor Dina Aman
“Dina is such an inspiring person — she’s a Dubai based full-time stylist, mother of three girls and a breast cancer survivor who uses her platform to raise awareness for the cause. We came across her profile and were thrilled when she agreed to become the ambassador for this initiative.
“The response has been overwhelming and it’s great to see different women across all ages and cultures come together for a cause to raise awareness for this serious topic. It also gave us different perspectives on how women perceive breast cancer and performing self-examinations.”
