Cancer Council to lead government’s $22m bowel screening campaign
Former AFL player Shane Crawford is among those encouraging Australians to check their poop
The federal government is spending $22 million on an advertising campaign to promote the National Bowel Screening Program, the largest amount it has allocated to a campaign since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.
The Department of Health has contracted Cancer Council to oversee communications, media buying, and strategy to drive participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) over the next two years.
In a statement to Mumbrella, the department said Cancer Council will develop a national integrated communication strategy, including awareness activities aimed at Australians aged 45 to 74, using creative material finalised late last year.
The overall aim is to encourage people, particularly those in rural, Aboriginal, or multicultural communities, to complete and return their free bowel screening kits.
The department did not comment on whether Cancer Council would outsource this to its own agencies, which have previously included agencies such as Archibald Williams, Spark Foundry, and Herd MSL.
Although the government has offered national bowel cancer screenings for people aged over 55 since 2006, the program was expanded on 1 July 2024 to lower the eligibility starting age from 50 to 45 years, amid a rise in younger Australians being diagnosed with the disease.
Since then, the government has enlisted a number of Australian personalities and former sports stars, including Shane Crawford, Julie Goodwin, Matthew Richardson, and Wayne Schwass, to act as communications ambassadors.
Although the Department of Health has worked extensively in the past with creative agencies BMF and Ogilvy Australia for its advertising activities, it has previously tasked Cancer Council with public relations and communications-based campaigns.
Last year, the department awarded the charity $4.9 million for a six-month “awareness and promotional activities” contract, which concluded last month. Its new contract will now run until June 2028.
Cancer Council and the government also released a campaign via Herd MSL in 2022, urging Australians to “Get2it” and participate in the NBCSP.
The campaign, launched in the lead-up to the 2022 State of Origin decider, featured NRL stars and commentators Petero Civoniceva, Geoff Toovey, and Andrew Voss to drive the message.
