It’s a real tearjerker. But the latest campaign for the CIBC / Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation annual Run for the Cure doesn’t mean to be a downer. The concept centres on the idea that ‘some women run it every year,’ and features ‘spirits’ of a daughter, coworker and mother running alongside their family and friends.

‘It is about empowerment – I think this is how the women would want to be remembered, as strong, tireless and vibrant as opposed to how they were towards the end of their fight,’ says Tim Das, copywriter at Toronto-based Cundari Group.

The run, which attracts an average of 180,000 people nationally each year, has an annual drop-off rate of about 50%, so the CBCF wanted to do something different for the September 30th run to help lure back past participants.

‘We had to give people a compelling new reason to come out while still keeping the ‘who are you running for?’ concept,’ says Das. Adds AD Mike Dietrich: ‘The market is flooded [with breast cancer efforts]. We really needed to stand out.’

The concept wasn’t an easy sell at first: there were concerns that it was too sad. The creative team felt strongly that it would connect, so they pushed for it. Fortunately, the concept went over well with focus groups. ‘The biggest back-up for this was the research,’ says Das. ‘The client said ‘this is a huge risk for us, but people really liked it in research.”

The campaign entails TV, radio, print, OOH and online, with Cundari’s Social POV working on a ‘Finding Hope’ blog (http://findinghope.cbcf.org), and a Facebook group called Team Facebook Runs for the Cure.

At press time, the campaign had been picked up by major media outlets like CanWest and the Globe and Mail.

Credits:

client: Mark Hierlihy, director of development, national office, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

agency: Cundari Group

CD: Fred Roberts

AD: Mike Dietrich

copywriter: Tim Das

account managers: Meghann O’Hara, Garry Lee

agency producer: Clare Cashman

photographer: Chris Gordaneer

prodco: Wilfrid Park

director: David Tennant

line producer: Greg Horton

editor: Geoff Ashenhurst, Stealing Time

audio: Thomas Neuspiel, Keen Music