In support of Breast Cancer month taking place globally in October 2008, Memac Ogilvy, a leading communication agency in the region, is currently conducting a campaign to fight the second most common type of cancer in women – breast cancer.  

Memac Ogilvy in partnership with Bare Essentials, located at Jumeirah Center-Dubai, is running the campaign to encourage better education of the causes of breast cancer and simple preventative measures that can be adopted to encourage regular screening and promote early detection of the killer disease.  

Globally, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every two minutes and the disease can have a devastating effect, not only on the individual, but also on family and friends. Identifying breast cancer early is essential as the cancer is most treatable at an early stage.

The core idea developed by Memac Ogilvy, in association with Bare Essentials was to introduce a one breasted mannequin in the boutique in a bid to dramatically emphasize the importance of regular self exams. 

Self examination remains a crucial tool in the fight against the disease and customers can find a small educational tag on every item in the shop to teach women how to conduct effective monthly self examinations. In addition to the product tags stickers are placed in the fitting rooms which provide practical, step by step advice on how to conduct the examination. 

To compliment this initiative, a sustainable online platform has been launched, www.fightbreastcancer.ae. The user-friendly portal explains how to conduct a breast self exam (BSE) and provides statistics to raise further awareness on the importance of early detection. Studies show that regular breast self exams, combined with an annual exam by a doctor, improves the chances of detecting cancer early. 

Ronald Howes, Managing Director of Memac Ogilvy adds: “We believe in the power of communication and persuasion and we are actively encouraging people to take action against Breast cancer. It is one of today’s biggest killers and is the leading cause of death amongst women between 40 and 55. We hope that this campaign makes a difference to the lives of women in the UAE and we are proud to associate ourselves with this important initiative.” 

Jan Curtis, managing partner, Bare Essentials comments: “We tied up with Memac Ogilvy because we believe that education and awareness are key in the fight against breast cancer. We believe that knowledge can save lives and we are eager to do our bit and hopefully help reduce the burden of the disease in the UAE. We had nothing but positive comments from our customers so far who are grateful we care”.