Susan G. Komen: Know Your Girls

 
In the U.S., Black women are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, and in some cities, the discrepancy is as high as 74 percent. To raise awareness about the disparity, we were tasked by the Ad Council to build a campaign for Susan G. Komen that urges Black women to take control of their breast health.

The Know Your Girls spot praises close girlfriends who've "been with you every moment of your life," through ups and downs, marriage, and motherhood. Each vignette reveals a group of women supporting each other.

It isn't until the very end that it becomes apparent that the voiceover, performed by Coming to America actor and breast cancer survivor Vanessa Bell Calloway, has been talking about breasts the entire time.

The spot was directed by A.V. Rockwell, whose aunt is a breast cancer survivor. She previously collaborated with singer Alicia Keys on the short film The Gospel, and Keys' song "You Don't Know My Name" backs the spot. Notably, Keys' mother is also a survivor. The campaign has also garnered support on social media from celebrity stylist June Ambrose, E! News co-anchor Zuri Hall, and digital creators The Glam Twinz, Jade Kendle, Miss Enocha, and Team 2 Moms.

Manifesto

Some knowledge belongs to us and us alone. The way our girlfriends walk, the way they talk, the way they touch their hair. We hold details that only a sister can know about her girls. But what about our other girls? The ones that we carry with us every day? Can we describe them when everything’s right? Can we feel when something’s wrong? Our bond with our sister girls, gives life. But knowing your breasts can save it.

Social Activation

To amplify the launch we worked with Good Stuff Digital to create a fresh social look for the platform using our brand identity. We engaged micro-influencers to share their stories of breast health and discovery. Introduced brand new channels on social media - launched with 19 celebrity social media posts that delivered over 5.3 million impressions. Since launching The "Know Your Girls" Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels have grown from zero to 22K.

To extend the Know Your Girls campaign on Instagram and Facebook we partnered up with Facebook Creative Shop to further develop social creative, and print takeaways for the Essence Festive activation. By tapping into the most important affirmations from the the main website to focus on empowerment so that learning about your family history became "Know Your Roots", being your best advocate became "Know Your Magic", being fully equipped at a doctors appointment became "Know Your Strength", and knowing your risk factors became "Know Your Self". We paired these empowering statements with custom illustrations to launch as Instagram and Facebook ads.