Cool tags for a novel campaign

Star: The National Cancer Society Malaysia recently initiated a novel campaign to create awareness of cancer among the young in Malaysia, writes K. S. USHA DEVI.

WHEN emcee and actor Bernie Chan was asked to help promote the Empowerment Tag (or E-Tag) for the National Cancer Society Malaysia, she had no hesitation whatsoever in agreeing.
“My father is a cancer survivor. He had six months of treatment for colon cancer at the end of 2004,” Chan explains, recalling the emotional and physical toll that the episode had taken on her family.
For Chan, it was a wake-up call to the fact that cancer is a non-discriminating disease and that it could strike anyone.
“It was a lesson for me that we have to take control of our lives and lead a healthy lifestyle, to be aware of our bodies and get educated,” she says.
The family rallied around to take care of her 73-year-old father, with Chan, the youngest of six siblings, driving her father to the hospital for his chemotherapy treatment.
“My father was a real trooper. He never complained and most importantly he did not doubt that he would survive,” she says.
And because of this emotional experience, Chan is strongly advocating the E-Tag as a means to spread the message of prevention and early detection of cancer.
Retailing at RM12 each at NCSM, the E-Tag is a stylish ornament embossed with catchy slogans like “beAWARE”, “getEDUCATED” and “celebrateLIFE”.
The messages are bold statements about the fight against cancer, which is becoming a major morbidity and mortality concern in Malaysia. (According to a 2004 report compiled by a group from the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, the Malaysian population is estimated to bear a cancer burden of about 40,000 new cases per year.)
Another celebrity who has lent his hand to the E-Tag campaign is singer Ferhad.
“It’s similar to when I write my music. I want people, especially the young generation, to feel empowered and build up their self–esteem and self respect,” Ferhad explains.
“The E-tag is an attractive method to get the attention of the public because it is both fashionable and has an underlying message.”
To fuel the interest of the younger generation, Neal Jansen, 21, Jessica Yong, 23, and Melissa Lee, 19, were also roped in to promote the E-Tag campaign.
“My mother, Anne, has been a strong supporter of cancer activities and I wanted to help her out by doing my part,” says Jansen, a marketing student at a local college.
The battle against the disease is also an experience that Jansen is aware of because people close to him, including his godmother and a cousin, were struck by cancer.
“My godmother was 50 and the cousin was only 32 when they died of cancer,” he says. “I can’t run away from the fact that the disease is here and it is real.”
Jansen says he would volunteer to do another advertisement similar to the E-Tag if required.
Yong, an events manager, was approached by NCSM and she was enthusiastic about helping out.
“I knew about the disease through celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Anastacia and Sharon Osbourne who had highlighted their battle with cancer,” says Yong, who feels that E- Tags are “very cool” to wear.
Lee also finds the E-Tag “very hip” as it can be worn in a number of ways.
Lee participated in the campaign because her mother is a close friend of Anne Jansen, who is its project coordinator.
It was also through the Lees that NCSM got connected to Digital Commerce (DCM), which sponsored the advertisement.
Gary Tay, managing director of DCM, was approached to do the work, which he did for free.
Eugene Lim, DCM's creative director, decided to use celebrities and young people to promote the E-Tags.
“The E-Tags were created as a modern, cutting-edge and compelling fundraising and communications campaign that appeals to the young,” Lim explains.
“The team worked well together and the final result is a positive, upbeat message about cancer awareness especially targeting young people.”

# The National Cancer Society Malaysia will continue to sell the E-Tags until the end of the year. For more information, call the Society at 03-2698 7351.