Mysterious Twitter Accounts Highlight the Four Main Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

TBWA\London has created a Twitter campaign #FollowedbyCancer for Ovarian Cancer Action, that represents how easily the signs of the disease can be ignored as they are mistaken for less life-threatening everyday ailments.    

The campaign centres around four unusually named Twitter handles following people with ovaries on the social platform.

The Twitter handles go by the odd names of "I need a wee again", "bloated belly", "my tummy hurts" and "feel full quickly".

And although they've regularly been tweeting, most of them have been completely ignored by everyone they've followed.

A film on Twitter reveals what's been going on in the run up to World Ovarian Cancer Day (Sunday 8th May). 

Unveiling that the four accounts are in fact the four main symptoms of ovarian cancer. 

The campaign titled #followedbycancer has been following 7500 people with ovaries on Twitter (the same number that get diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year). The Twitter accounts have mimicked the way the symptoms get ignored in real life.

Andy Jex, chief creative officer, TBWA\London, says: “Ignoring Twitter accounts won’t kill anyone, but ignoring the real symptoms of ovarian cancer will. So creating awareness is essential.”

Cary Wakefield, CEO, Ovarian Cancer Action, says: “This campaign reflects the simple truth that these symptoms can often be overlooked or associated with other problems. We want women to follow up on symptoms that are unusual for them and talk to their GP, because early detection can literally mean the bleak difference between a diagnosis with a 90% chance of survival, compared to 14% when diagnosed at a late stage.”

Because the symptoms are so easy to dismiss as everyday ailments, awareness of the four symptoms and early diagnosis is key.

The campaign is the result of last year's #PoweredByTweets competition which TBWA\London won for its client Ovarian Cancer Action, the UK research charity for the disease.

Agencies had to pitch a creative idea that utilised the media platform as central to its concept. The winning agency was gifted £100,000 worth of free Twitter advertising to make their campaign a reality.

In addition to the Twitter campaign, Clear Channel UK are providing a number of premium OOH sites for World Ovarian Cancer Day. The OOH creative highlights how dismissed symptoms can quickly become serious through a series of clever headlines that demand a second look. 

The campaign was created by Jemma Burgess and Gémina Gil Flores with social strategy by Pamela Coppock. The production company was Agile Films.

The four main symptoms of Ovarian Cancer are needing to wee more frequently, persistent bloating, persistent stomach pain and feeling full more quickly.