It’s
day 6 of the #nomakeupselfie campaign, and the newspapers claim to have
uncovered the source – a teenage Mum from Stoke.
Fiona
Cunningham wanted to do something to raise awareness of [breast] cancer as it
had touched her family. What happened next was an unprecedented viral campaign
which has raised more than £8m in less than a week – one of Cancer Research
UK’s most successful fundraising campaigns to date.
 |
| Picture shared on Twitter by @CR_UK |
While Cancer Research may not have come up with the idea, they certainly helped it along, putting their weight behind it and setting up a text number to make it even easier to donate and share.
The
premise is a simple one, post a picture of yourself on social media wearing, shock horror, no make-up and make a
donation to help beat cancer.
The
celebs got on board, and people began nominating eachother – an idea clearly
borrowed from the earlier #neknomination craze – a very different ballgame.
This peer pressure only served to spread the word further.
The #nomakeupselfie is simple
There
is no doubt that success lays partly in its simplicity – anyone with a mobile phone and internet connection can
post their picture. No props required. In today’s fast-paced world, the limited time and effort required to
participate is surely a factor.
The #nomakeupselfie piggy-backed a popular trend
The
campaign uses a recent popular trend. It was so prevalent last year, that ‘selfie’ was
voted The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the
Year 2013. The self-taken photo recently came again to the fore when
Ellen DeGeneres, @TheEllenShow, posted THAT Oscars selfie.
The #nomakeupselfie hit us where it hurt
Cancer
has long been a subject that touches people – it has been estimated that more
than 1 in 3 people will develop cancer at some point in their lives*, and many, many
more will be touched by it. The very mention stirs up emotion within us all.
The #nomakeupselfie was controversial
Yes,
in the beginning critics slammed the campaign for being irrelevant, citing the
fact that there is no hardship in posting a make-up-less photo online….And, arguably,
they should be right.
But
I think one of the key success factors is that the #nomakeupselfie taps
into women’s obsession with beauty.
Like
it, or loathe it, a fact of today’s society is that women place a huge emphasis
on outward appearance. The campaign uses this in a very real way – fostering
feelings of vulnerability and togetherness.
And its success cannot be denied
The
relevance to cancer is neither here nor there, Cancer Research UK just happened
to be the worthy recipient in this case.
And
the difference the money will make is life-changing.
Dove already knew a lot of this…
It can’t be a coincidence that the
top viral ad last year was the US ad Dove-Real
Beauty sketches http://realbeautysketches.dove.com/
- a campaign from the Ogilvy Mather agency.
One of the aims
was to ignite a global conversation about beauty proving that “you are more
beautiful than you think”.
A forensic artist
sketched women based on their own descriptions, and the descriptions of someone
they had only just met. In all cases the language used by the stranger was much
more positive and the resulting picture was much more attractive, and showed a
greater likeness to reality.
Critics said it focussed too much on looks, But receiving over 4m shares across
social media platforms, and 15 million downloads of the film in a month, the
campaign tapped into the raw emotion of women’s self-perception.
As in all great stories, the women
in the film experienced a change for the better – a change in attitude, a new-found
realization and that they are beautiful – a lovely sentiment for Dove to
associate themselves with, and not a hand-pump cream dispenser in sight.
It is this positive outpouring of emotion and empathy that inspires sharing
It is not surprising then, that
the subject of women’s beauty ideals, a charity close to this country’s heart,
and a simple on-trend task, proved to be a potent combination.
Especially when
you add the sharing ‘incentive’ of nominations.
Unfortunately
for the big brands, this is not something that can be forced. The mere whisper of a large budget and a
boardroom of execs rubbing their hands together is enough to stop many a
potential-sharer in their tracks.
The
one thing that has become very clear in the world of social media is that people
trust friends far more than they trust brands.
Even
if what their friend is asking them to do is something that they don’t
necessarily want to.
 |
| My #nomakeupselfie |
References
*http://www.macmillan.org.uk
I'd love to know what you think - leave your comments in the box below.
Check back to follow me on my #copywritingjourney
No comments:
Post a Comment