AMV BBDO's Growing Street Lump Stunt Carries a Powerful Message

As a nation Britain doesn't pay enough attention to health. We live on autopilot, too preoccupied to stop and check if everything’s ok. A huge problem when it comes to spotting signs of cancer. 

AMV BBDO’s new campaign for Cancer Research UK holds up a mirror to this very British behaviour, exposing the reality that people ignore things right under their nose. 

The TV, cinema and online film centres on a British high street. Over time, a mysterious lump grows out from the pavement, it gets bigger and bigger until finally it becomes impossible to ignore. Or so you’d imagine. In fact the hundreds of passers-by do nothing, carrying on with their day, ignoring the lump that has taken up home in their midst. 

Abi Brown, Head of Health Campaigns at Cancer Research UK said: “This campaign highlights a really important message about early diagnosis, which is one of the greatest weapons in the fight against cancer. 

“We wanted to create a campaign that would make people stop and think.  Would you ignore a cancer symptom, in the same way that many of the people ignored the lump in the film? Or would you act on it?  By spotting the signs early, you give yourself the best possible chance of beating cancer. Cancer Research UK has a wealth of information available for anyone with any questions, including the website and nurse helpline.”

Success relied heavily on the believability of the lump. Multiple-sizes were made by award winning special FX company Artem. Each lump was 3d moulded and carved by a robotic multi-axis sculpting machine, then painted and textured to exactly match the pavement and road surface of the high street. Each lump was placed in situ, so it appeared to grow over time. Six cameras were then trained on the lump to capture the reactions, or more importantly, non-reactions, of those who passed by. 

An outdoor campaign supports the film and also sets out to test the publics’ powers of observation. The posters encourage people to spot anything unusual within the copy and to look out for small changes in the layout, linking the tasks with the importance of spotting cancer early.