Serviceplan and the Felix Burda Foundation give 3D animated animals a voice

Felix Burda Foundation: March is Colorectal Awareness Month
Felix Burda Foundation: March is Colorectal Awareness Month

March is Colorectal Awareness Month: Serviceplan and the Felix Burda Foundation give 3D animated animals a voice

For the first time, the Felix Burda Foundation is using 3D animated animals to highlight the importance of colorectal cancer screening in a new awareness campaign for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March. Serviceplan Health & Life is responsible for the concept and implementation of the campaign and has already won numerous awards for creative health communication with the #DealOfALifetime and #Preventiophobia campaigns for the Felix Burda Foundation. Celebrities such as Katja Burkard, Jürgen Prochnow and Sky du Mont are lending their voices to the initiative.

Munich, 21th February 2024 — For the 23rd time, colorectal cancer prevention will be in the spotlight in Germany in March. Every year, 54,770 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed in Germany, resulting in 22,959 deaths. With prevention and early detection, colorectal cancer is usually 100% preventable or curable. To make prevention more tangible, Serviceplan Health & Life and the Felix Burda Foundation have created a new campaign spot featuring man's best friend: our own pets.

This year, the Felix Burda Foundation, together with Serviceplan, is focusing on the two options for colorectal cancer screening - stool tests and colonoscopies - to mark the Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March.

At the heart of the campaign is a CGI animated film showing a beagle and a British shorthair cat discussing the benefits of the two tests for their owners. The new spot has star support: actor Jürgen Prochnow, the German voice of Sylvester Stallone, among others, voices the dog, while TV presenter Katja Burkard lends her voice to the cat. Actor Sky du Mont provides the narration. The #tierischgutewahl campaign will run from March 2024 and will include TV commercials, digital out of home, radio, online, social media and print ads.

“The Felix Burda Foundation wants people in Germany to stay healthy," explains Carsten Frederik Buchert, Head of Communications at the Munich-based foundation. "That's why we try to use new, unusual and humorous ideas to draw positive attention to a topic that many people tend to avoid.”

Charming animal ambassadors

“Cats and dogs top the list of Germany's favourite pets. They reduce stress and can even help reduce risk factors such as obesity. So why shouldn't they also motivate us to get screened for colorectal cancer?,” says Matthias Jester-Pfadt, Creative Director at Serviceplan Health & Life. "That's why we've developed a campaign to raise awareness of colorectal cancer prevention from a new perspective.”

Watch the film about the new campaign (in German) here

In Germany, colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in women (after breast cancer) and the third most common cancer in men (after prostate and lung cancer). One in 15 men and one in 19 women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer during their lifetime.  Since its introduction in 2002, screening colonoscopy has been considered the ultimate in colorectal cancer prevention. Any precancerous lesions found in the bowel can be removed immediately and painlessly. Since the introduction of the immunological stool test in 2017, people have had a nearly equivalent alternative. Every year, around 560,000 people have a screening colonoscopy and around 1.9 million people use the stool test in the comfort of their own home. Since the introduction of screening colonoscopy in 2002, around 167,000 deaths from colorectal cancer have been prevented.


Credits

FELIX BURDA STIFTUNG
Responsible: Carsten Frederik Buchert, Director Marketing & Communications
Project Management: Adriana Seefried, Referentin Public Affairs & Communications

SPEEKER
Katja Burkard (Cat)
Jürgen Prochnow (Dog)
Sky du Mont (Off)

AGENCY
SERVICEPLAN HEALTH & LIFE

Global Chief Creative Officer: Alex Schill
Executive Creative Director & Partner: Mike Rogers
Managing Director & Partner: Florian Bernsdorf
Creative Director: Matthias Jester-Pfadt
Senior Art Director: Alina Wauter
Senior Art Director: Christina Wong
Art Director: Sarah Münz
Art Director: Rosario Chillagano
Junior Art Director: Sera Yoon
Junior Art Director: Verena Solleder
Junior Art Director: Luca Carlotta Leifer
Senior Account Manager: Johanna Köhler

PRODUCTION
DOG EAR FILMS

Executive Producer: Roman Prochnow
Executive Producer: Andreas Henn
Post Producer: Mirko Hampel
Post Producer: Alex Wasielewski
Post Producer: Julia Dobler
VfX Artist: Manuel Kotulla
VfX Artist: Benita Kotulla

LOFT STUDIOS
Sound Engineer: Sebastian Bender

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Contact

Christiane Wolff

Birgit Koch

Corporate Communications

+49 89 2050 2273