FUCK CANCER Wants You to Have ‘Serious Foreplay’ in Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign
Even though melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, most people don’t take the time to check their skin for questionable moles. Fuck Cancer wants to change that with Serious Foreplay, a new melanoma awareness campaign that encourages couples to do a skin scan before they do it.
The cheeky campaign is based on recent studies that show partner-aided skin scans increase early detection of melanomas. Melanoma is about 98% curable when found early, so regular skin checks with a partner could be key to saving lives.
To ensure couples keep their monthly skin scans fresh, Fuck Cancer, a non-profit dedicated to advancing health equity through early detection and prevention programs, in partnership with The Variable, an award-winning differentiation consultancy and advertising agency, created “Kamole Sutra” cards featuring various positions for couples to change things up while checking for changing moles. Each position is crafted to make skin scans more engaging and thorough. From "Reverse the Risk Cowgirl" to "Woman On Top of Her Health,” these cards featuring inclusive couples infuse a mix of humour, sensuality, and serious health education and awareness.
Further blending sensuality with life-saving info, Fuck Cancer and The Variable also created a series of short films that bring viewers into the bedroom while educating about the ‘ABCDEs of Moles,’ a handy guide for getting handsy with yourself or your partner. The films will run across paid social and digital on wellness, dating and lifestyle platforms including Tinder, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan and more.
For added reach about checking for moles in hard-to-reach places, Fuck Cancer has partnered with sex-positive health influencers and experts on Instagram, including Dr. Carlton Thomas, a queer health advocate and 2023 Queerty Pride50 honoree, and Danielle Bezalel, MPH, a sexual health education expert and creator, producer and host of the popular Sex Ed with DB podcast, to call on couples to search for big moles before they reach the big O.
“The importance of melanoma’s early detection cannot be overstated,” remarked Dr. Heather Kun, CEO of Fuck Cancer. “Spotting skin cancers early not only eases treatment burden but also significantly boosts positive outcomes. With melanoma being nearly 98% curable when detected promptly, partner-aided scans are pivotal, especially for those elusive spots. And honestly, when's a better time for a thorough check than when you're undressed? 'Serious Foreplay' isn't just a campaign; it's a call to action, urging couples to commit to regular skin checks on one another.”
"We thrive on harnessing the power of differentiated, creative work to drive impactful change. Serious Foreplay isn't a campaign about getting attention; it's a campaign to spark action,” explained Courtney Lewis, VP of Growth at The Variable. “With Fuck Cancer, we created a way to leverage the intimacy shared between the couples to create an opportunity to encourage partner-aided skin scans, making an unfortunately overlooked or ignored preventative health screening not just easy but enjoyable. This campaign is rooted in the idea that if we can capture the public's imagination and engage them in their own health narrative, we can turn routine skin checks into a practice as regular and intimate as the relationships it seeks to protect."
Couples can visit SeriousForeplay.com for just the tips on partner-aided skin scans and to get their free deck of Kamole Sutra cards (while supplies last).
Remember, before you get off, get on top of your skin health.
