RKCR's Psembi Kinstan Talks Breast Cancer Now

Today marks the launch of Breast Cancer Now, a charity with a clear aim: to stop women dying from breast cancer by 2050. The debut campaign: The Last One, created by RKCR/Y&R in collaboration with Stink’s directing duo Wilkins and Maguire, leads with an emotionally charged ad.

Featuring 10 women, who all suffer from breast cancer at different stages, the spot provides an inside glimpse into life with the cancer – from finding a lump to living with an incurable disease.

Below, Breast Cancer Now communications director Fiona Hazell and RKCR/Y&R creative Psembi Kinstan discuss the process of putting together such a revealing campaign, while retaining authenticity in the protagonists’ stories.

What was the idea behind The Last One, Breast Cancer Now’s launch ad campaign?

FH: We wanted the campaign to reflect the charity’s reason for doing this: that if we all act now, breast cancer will have taken its last life by 2050. We needed something that would directly tackle the complacent and inaccurate view that breast cancer is a ‘done deal’ in the UK; a campaign that would lend a voice to the forgotten women and families living with the disease. The Last One ­– poignant, hard-hitting and real – helps us tell this story, and we hope it will encourage everyone who has been touched by the disease to stand with us and fund life-saving research.

Can you tell us a bit about the protagonists in the film?

FH: All of the women featured in The Last One are living with a breast cancer diagnosis and are currently at various stages of treatment. They gave up their time generously and courageously to be part of the campaign and they are passionate about supporting this cause – to stop women dying of breast cancer by 2050.

What was the selection process for the protagonists?

PK: We knew that the campaign had to have complete authenticity and wanted each woman to connect with their particular dialogue. Each line was based on that woman’s recent experience. For example, the woman in the bath who spoke about finding a lump had only recently found the lump. These small details made the performances so powerful.

Over several weeks the directors met dozens of women in various stages of breast cancer and gradually got to know them and their stories. With such a delicate subject matter which we wanted to present authentically, we had to really get to know each of the women individually and find the right part of the script for them to connect with.

What were the challenges when creating the campaign?

FH: Conveying the realities of life with breast cancer in a campaign requires great sensitivity. One of our biggest challenges was to make sure that we remained faithful to the breast cancer diagnosis experience. By featuring women living with the disease in the ad – and getting to know them and their stories – we were able to overcome this challenge and are extremely grateful to these inspiring ladies for their time and insurmountable bravery.

Can you tell us more about the experience and what you took away from the process?

PK: There were certainly some incredibly positive moments throughout the project. The strongest would have to be after the shoot, when many of the women wrote to the directors and described how empowered they felt for having an opportunity to share their story.

How is it different from other breast cancer campaigns?

FH: It’s a campaign that helps us bring an important issue to the public domain. Nearly 12,000 women still die from breast cancer each year in the UK. We have to face this fact now and, together, start funding world-class research to help us understand, prevent and treat secondary breast cancer - which is currently incurable and the main cause of death from the disease.

We need to invest at least £300 million in research over the next 10 years, and we hope that The Last One will encourage the public to join us.

How important was it for the client to have an emotive campaign and do you think the ad succeeds in getting that across?

PK: Breast Cancer Now wanted a campaign that was as powerful and hopeful as their goal. We knew that the emotion would naturally come when the real women shared their stories; the challenge was to balance this emotion with the positivity of the charity’s ambition. Each woman delivered such an incredible performance. They brought the emotion, we just had to make sure the cinematography or post production didn’t get in the way.

How did you shape the ad to gain most impact by primetime TV viewers (it will air tonight on C4's Seven O'clock News)?

PK: This TVC could have easily ended up in the well-trodden mire of sappy and depressing charity advertising. It could have just been another charity ad with actors trying to deliver the stories of real people. We didn’t want it to be that. The positive tone and authenticity will help it stand out and deliver the impact the charity deserves. With that said, the TVC is really a small part to the entire campaign: online it becomes even richer as it explores the personal stories of the women and their families.