
10 February, 2016 - 07:05
There are certain things men don't like to talk about: Their favourite team losing, when they last cried during a movie, and their balls. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men aged 15 to 39, and affects males of all races.
If monitored properly, the average survival rate after five years is around 95%, and stage 1 cancer cases have essentially a 100% survival rate. It's for this reason that early detection and prompt action is vital.
But, how do you start the conversation and get men to feel comfortable talking about their balls, and all things health related to their testes? This was the challenge put to FCB Cape Town.
The solution? Instead of getting men to talk about their testicles, they'd get someone else to broach the subject on their behalf.
Cue Testi-monials, a campaign created for the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) to remove the awkwardness and drive awareness.
The campaign, which has global appeal, features testicles giving testi-monials' about cancer and how they have been personally affected. They will give advice on how to self-examine and help detect signs and symptoms.
We realised that if we could find a way to reduce the awkwardness around the topic of testicular cancer and get a conversation started, we'd be able to increase the chances of early detection, said Mike Barnwell, FCB Cape Town's Executive Creative Director.
For the campaign, FCB Cape Town collaborated with its sister agency, Hellocomputer, which spent countless hours doing research before the final animation and also created its online components including an interactive Q&A page where guys could ask the character questions directly.
The entire process took approximately 8 months from start to finish. That's a lot of time to create realistic looking talking-testes. But well worth the effort.
Lucy Balona, Head of Marketing and Communication at CANSA, is enthusiastic about this campaign. It's great to see a bunch of people that are actually concerned and interested in men's health come up with an idea like this and want to share it.
Cancer is a disease that affects so many, and young men should be made aware about ways to reduce their cancer risk. This is a compelling and engaging campaign to get the guys talking and educated about testicular cancer. Awareness and early detection really does make a difference, she said.
Testi-monials will go live on www.testi-monials.co.za. Here people can ask the campaign's testi-ambassador their health related questions, including: How is testicular cancer diagnosed? What are the treatments for testicular cancer? What are the symptoms of testicular cancer? And many other pertinent questions relating to testicular cancer. The testi-ambassador will give it to you straight, so there's no need to beat around the bush.
But there's only so much a media release can tell you about talking testicles.
It's really something that you need to, erm, check out for yourself:
#Havetheballs and join in on the conversation online:
Twitter: @HaveTheBalls_
Instagram: havetheballs_
ends
Credits
Client: Cancer Association of South Africa
Head of Marketing and Communication: Lucy Balona
Agency: FCB Cape Town & Hellocomputer
Executive Creative Director: Mike Barnwell, Simon Spreckley
Creative Director: Aaron Harris, Grant Campbell
Art Director Group Head: Riaan van Wyk, Matt Thompson
Copywriter Group Head: Andr De Wet
Animator: Brendon Cahill
Account director: Stephanie Binns
Producer: Nikki-Leigh Piper
Sound: Milestone
Film Production: Bioscope
Director: Hylton Tannenbaum
00:00
--
Commercials
Africa South Africa
10 reads
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/08/2026
Latest free Vaults instrument released
The Crow Hill Company's Vaults collection offers a continually rotating selection of virtual instruments and samp...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/08/2026
COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representative - Animation Services
Brie Clayton July 31, 2026
0 Comments
Lead Generation Representative - Animation Service...
01/08/2026
Emilie Lowe Shoots Award Winning Short Film Where Dead Things Grow with Blackmag...
01/08/2026
Early Registration Opens for the 2026 SMPTE Media Technology Summit
Brie Clayton July 31, 2026
0 Comments
Initial Program Announced Alongside New Medi...
31/07/2026
With an emphasis on local, the league is looking beyond the initial four teams t...
31/07/2026
The 2026 Sundance Institute Directors Lab fellows in Estes Park, Colorado (Photo by Gabe Rovick)
Dear Friends,
This has been an extraordinary year for our ar...
31/07/2026
Offers 360-degree sound placement in any DAW
Audiocube have just announced the launch of a new plug-in that embeds a complete 3D acoustic environment inside...
31/07/2026
10 new Chinese C-Pop voices introduced
While Sonarworks are best known to many for their room-correction software, their product range also includes an inno...
31/07/2026
Reimagines the vintage BBD sound character
PSPaudioware have now officially launched the new delay plug-in that they were previewing at GearExpo UK. Said to...
31/07/2026
The Savannah Bananas has built its reputation on refusing to play baseball by traditional rules, and the team's production arm Banana Ball TV (BTV) has draf...
31/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
31/07/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today opened early registration for the 2026 Media Technology Summit (MTS) and announced i...
31/07/2026
Clear-Com announced that Central Christian Church has transformed communication across its live production operations by implementing Clear-Com's LQ Seri...
31/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
31/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
31/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
31/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the finalists for the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, recognising collaborative projects from around the world that solve real-world challenges and ...
31/07/2026
From focus puller to colourist
Caroline Shawley July 30, 2026
0 Comments
Ana Mar a Ormaza shares her story of instinct, storytelling and finding a cre...
31/07/2026
Amazon Prime Documentary Andata e Ritorno Relies on Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton July 30, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Clou...
31/07/2026
Krotos Launches Video to Sound Plugin for DaVinci Resolve
Brie Clayton July 30, 2026
0 Comments
AI-assisted workflow helps editors add synchronized, p...
31/07/2026
Athletics, Camogie, the Dublin Horse Show, the FAI Cup, Golf, Hockey, the UEFA C...
31/07/2026
Luxembourg, July 31, 2026 - Pursuant to the liquidity contract entered into by SES with BNP Paribas as of 7 April 2026, please see the below update on the progr...
31/07/2026
Luxembourg, July 31, 2026 - SES today published a restatement of its FY2025 EU Taxonomy (Article 8) disclosure. The restatement updates the FY2025 EU Taxonomy d...
31/07/2026
RT Commercial has today announced Mercedes-Benz Ireland will return as the offi...
31/07/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to spotlight a diverse range of arts, culture and heritage events taking place across Ireland this August. From major festi...
30/07/2026
CP Communications provided RF audio, RF video, communications, RF coordination, ...
30/07/2026
OpenDrives has been included in CRN's 2026 Storage 100 list in the Software-Defined Storage category. The annual list, selected by the CRN editorial team, r...
30/07/2026
LATAM Airlines has selected SES to provide multi-orbit inflight connectivity to its fleet of Airbus and Embraer aircraft. More than 60 aircraft - including Airb...
30/07/2026
Tagboard has launched the Producer API, an open interface that allows key commands in Tagboard's live production environment to be triggered from external d...
30/07/2026
FOX Sports and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) have announced a multi-year agreement with Del Mar Thoroughbred Club that will make FOX Sports the exclusi...
30/07/2026
ABC Commercial has launched four free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels on LG Smart TVs across North America, Great Britain, and select countrie...
30/07/2026
The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament will return to Riyadh on October 21, 22, and 24, streaming live on Netflix at no additional cost to subscribers....
30/07/2026
Central Christian Church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois has deployed Clear-Com's LQ...
30/07/2026
Blackmagic Design has released the UltraStudio Express 3G family, a pair of USB4 capture and playback devices compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux computers ...
30/07/2026
ESPN has reached a media rights agreement with the Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL), making ESPN the national streaming home of the league's 2026 seas...
30/07/2026
Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and the Professional Fighters League (PFL) have announced a merger that will operate under the MVP banner. PFL CEO John Martin wi...
30/07/2026
The Columbus Blue Jackets will simulcast all game broadcasts across television and radio beginning with the 2026-27 NHL season. Under the new format, the televi...
30/07/2026
TMRW Sports has selected Populous as architect for a purpose-built stadium for its professional flag football league, being developed in partnership with the NF...
30/07/2026
SiriusXM has announced SiriusXM Sports Pass, a new subscription plan launching September 1 that bundles the company's sports audio programming into a single...
30/07/2026
Leagues, broadcasters, and technologists gather to tackle cloud economics, distr...
30/07/2026
A major player in the cloud-based solutions, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has conti...