Exemplar Blog: Media Campaign Critique

Grow Your Mo! Smashing Sucess! 

It's November, you take a look around and see various forms of facial hair growing on the men around you, maybe you are thinking- makes sense! It gets cold in Canada in the winter, they want to protect there face-you'd be wrong, they are actually supporting  Movember!

What is Movember?

Movember is a campaign that works towards preventing men from dying too young from prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide. Their website's mission statement says: "Our fathers, partners, brothers, and friends face a health crisis that isn’t being talked about. Men are dying too young. We can’t afford to stay silent." The video below tells all!

Background: 

Movember originated back 2003 when two Australian friends, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, were inspired by their friend's mother who was raising awareness about breast cancer. These two men realized that men's health is an issue which needed more focus and awareness, with 28 other friends, the 30 original "MoBros" challenged each other to grow a Moustache in support of men's health. From that, the campaign went global in 2007, and the Movember organization was born. It seeks to raise awareness and collect donations to support research surrounding men's health issues.

The Orginal MoBros: Travis and Luke

Successful Elements: 

In order for a social media campaign to be successful, there are a number of elements that need to be met. First, the goal! The campaign not only needs to have a goal that is clear, but it also needs to reach the goal! Movember has definitely reached its goal to raise awareness and collect donations. While in the first year the men raised nothing ("What has Movember done for men's health"), in the 15 years the campaign has been running, the donations have been flowing in. For example, in Canadians have raised over 924 million dollars (Movember Canada), in the United States $837 million dollars (Movember US), in the UK 540 million pounds (Movember UK), which is about 954 million Canadian dollars, and in Australia 954 million dollars (Movember Australia) so it's safe to say that Movember is achieving its goal of donations. Furthermore, the campaign has met its goal of raising awareness and contributing to change as according to the BBC article, "Prostate cancer cases have doubled in the past 10 years and we can see the Movember effect in the past four years as the level of investment has started to spike." Another reason this campaign is a success is because of its long term impact. These gentlemen didn't give up in the first year, they continue to bring it back year after year. Because it returns annually, every November, the population is reminded to focus on men's health and get involved which creates a long term impact. Additionally, it's clear this campaign is global. As seen from the numerous Movember pages around the world (linked above), Movember meets the "outreach" requirement of being a global campaign. Moreover, the campaign is active and used on a variety of social media platforms. For example, Movember has pages on Instagram, Facebook , and Twitter. This campaign has been so successful because it is easy to get involved. Since the campaign can be found on any platform, people can easily get involved by clicking links to donate. The challenge to grow facial hair is also very easy, as all one needs to do is not shave for a month! Finally, this media campaign is endorsed by multiple celebrities, Mo Bro and Mo Sista celebrities around the world join in by growing the stash and contributing funds to this worthy cause. As seen below popular game shows like Jeopardy and celebrities, both male and female, like Cindy Crawford and Jason Priestley get involved. To sum, Movember deserves a pat on the back for being so awesome!

Celebrities encouraging their followers to participate. 

The drawbacks:  

There is no doubt that Movember is a very effective and successful annual campaign that has had a huge impact on men's health, but like everything, it is not perfect. This campaign failed to involve everyone as it has been criticized for only allowing men who can grow facial hair to be involved. As the campaign is revolved around a moustache to be its mascot, half of the population is left out and there can be disappointment amongst men who are unable to grow one. Movember has tackled this issue by calling on Mo Sista's to get involved by asking them to donate to the campaign and sport fake moustaches. As well, there are elements of slacktivism involved in the campaign, as according to senior Gustavo Sagastume of The Purple Tide, people just see Movember as a thing where they grow out their moustaches and do not see the true meaning behind it, and how it targets men’s health. “I do it because it’s fun. I learned last year that it’s actually to support some men’s health issues” (O'Rourke). To improve this campaign, we need to reinforce the meaning of Movember. Companies and sponsors can promote what the campaign is aiming to achieve, rather than just telling men to grow their moustache. Even though there are some drawbacks, they do not have a severe impact on the movement as the merits mentioned above clearly demonstrate that this campaign is a model for success.

Feeling Inspired?

Why not join the fight to help Men's Health? EVERYONE is doing it.... To support the Movember movement, you can raise awareness by growing your own moustache for the duration of November! Can't grow facial hair? Well, you can donate to the Movember Foundation. Don't have money you say? Why not participate in the Move for Movember challenge ー run or walk 60 kilometres over the month of November. That’s 60 kilometres for the 60 men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour.

 There are lots of ways to show your support! 

References:

“What Has Movember Done for Men's Health?” BBC News, BBC, 27 Oct. 2013,

               www.bbc.com/news/health-24581600. Date Accessed: 3/25/2019

"Movember Australia." Movember Australia, 2019 au.movember.com. Date Accessed: 3/25/2019

"Movember Canada." Movember Canada, 2019. ca.movember.com. Date Accessed: 3/25/2019

"Movember United Kingdom." Movember UK, 2019. uk.movember.com. Date Accessed: 3/25/2019

"Movember United States." Movember US, 2019. us.movember.com. Date Accessed: 3/25/2019

O'Rourke, Hallie. “The Problem with Movember.” The Purple Tide,

chantillynews.org/2692/opinions/the-problem-with-movember/. Date Accessed: 3/25/2019