CoppaFeel/Fold7/#TrustYourTouch campaign

The brief from Coppafeel to its creative agency Fold 7 was to devise a spot that encourages viewers to touch their breasts in any way they choose to, so that they can detect any unusual changes that may signify breast cancer.

The campaign particularly aims to change the behaviour of young women who are currently more likely to go to the dentist, weigh themselves or get their eyes tested than they are to check their boobs for signs of cancer.

After introducing the two main characters ‘Hands’ and ‘Boobs’ in pink and white typeface, the creative features a succession of shots of hands on breasts, both male and female, intercut with clips of tactile, breast shaped objects such as jellies, gum bubbles, basket balls, doughnuts and peaches; as well as objects that rely on our touch to work such as smart phones and piano keys. The voiceover is rhythmic and riffs on verbs such as 'fiddle, twiddle, jiggle, juggle' to convey that however you use it, the human touch is incredibly sensitive.

#TrustYourTouch ends by slowing down the fast pace of its percussive track and focuses on the chest of a woman who has undergone a single mastectomy. Overlaid text reads: ‘Touching your boobs could save your life’.

The 60 and 40-second cuts are being supported by an out-of-home campaign with Outdoor 8 and will run in cinemas. There are also retail activations planned in partnership with retailers such as Sweaty Betty and Zakti. Directed by Ivana Bobic, the spot is bright and snappy. Its rhythmic quality makes it stick in the memory.

October is bustling with awareness campaigns. There’s World Mental Health Day (10 October) and International Day of the Girl Child (11 October), without forgetting Campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness month. The impromptu #MeToo campaign following last week’s Harvey Weinstein revelations also added to the noise, competing for the attention of both young and older women alike. However, probably #TrustYourFeel’s most effective broadside is the fact that it can claim a landmark victory.

The campaign won the right to screen the first set of uncovered female breasts on British Daytime TV. This offered the British press, which loves a good boob story, with a genuine news angle, and coverage was duly secured in The Sun, The Daily Star and The Metro as well as the Huffington Post, the Telegraph and the Independent. It even out-trended Donald Trump on BBC Online.

It is also faring well on social media where young musicians such as Rae Morris tweeted it out to her 30K+ followers, as did several lingerie brands and media outlets such as BBC’s Women’s Hour. #TrustYourTouch might struggle more on Instagram where, despite much protest, female nipples have been outlawed, but the shorter version of the ad features such a fleeting blink-and-you’ll-miss glimpse, that it would hardly be worth the outrage it would provoke if the social network decided to remove it.

Research by CoppaFeel suggests that 80 per cent of young women don’t check their breasts regularly, with six out of 10 women saying that they lack confidence in knowing how to. If daytime television’s first female nipple is in aid of empowering women and educating them about their bodies, then this campaign is a landmark worth celebrating.