A hairy history
Off the top of my head, I could not name one person I know personally who does not have a social media account.
This is a single reason why social media plays a vital role for viral campaigns that are in the process of wider communication - it has the visibility of the world.
For Melbourne born campaign Movember Foundation, they strategically use social media as a stepping stone to address some of the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention.
Some facts about men’s health:
- On average, men die six years earlier than women.
- Prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years.
- Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50 years.
- Every minute, a man dies from suicide globally.
The term ‘Movember’ is a linguistic blend of words, or otherwise known as a portmanteau. The term combines both the words ‘moustache’ and ‘November’ which are both integral aspects in the campaign process.
The annual campaign challenges men globally to ditch the razor and grow a moustache for the month of November, thereby changing their appearance whilst changing the face of men’s health. They essentially become a walking and talking billboard and prompting questions. The ‘Mo Bros’ start the 30 day month with a clean-shaven face, through their efforts that raised both awareness and financial help for the often ignored issues of mens health.
The data graphs below explore the mention of the popular campaign terms ‘Movember’ and ‘No Shave November’ over the month leading up to November 2014 across all social media platforms. Due to the campaign including images for ‘photo evidence’, the expectation that the terms be mentioned on high visual channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Flickr are high as they help increase visibility.
I can hear you asking… “wow, what happened on October 17?”
Nope, wasn’t Kim Kardashian... or a Donald Trump.. but Kian Lawley, a 19 year old social media influencer who has grown an impressive following through production of Youtube and Vine content. With over 2 million subscribers on Youtube and 1.71 million on both Twitter and Vine.
His tweet:
No Shave November is coming up & I can finally participate with the somewhat of a beard I can grow 😅
— KEY-YUHN! (@KianLawley) October 16, 2014
A single Tweet by Lawley generated more than 3,000 retweets and impressions in a single day (October 17) – shows just how social media can play a major role in the growth of a public health campaign.
Fast forward to 2019, the mention and opportunist tagging of the term Movember has found itself in over 1,312,426 Tweets and counting globally.
Australia
The trains, buses and trams across the country even got their own moustache to support the movement.
After losing his grandfather to Prostate Cancer, Eray Saban held his annual “Shit Shirt Saturday” raising over $31,000 by bringing Mo Bros and Sistas together for an afternoon of fun at the local pubs in their shittiest shirts.
United States
Movember partnered with the hilarious duo “Holmes & Watson” brought by Sony Pictures that hit cinemas in December to create a custom public service announcement that raises awareness for the campaign.
Canada
Canada? They never disappoint. Canada had a pop up barber in the heart of Toronto on November 1st to ensure the Canadian faces were starting the month cleanly shaven.
United Kingdom
The popular reality show star Chris Hughes from Love Island UK got his nuts out on national TV as he underwent a testicular cancer examination to eliminate any of the worries or myths men had about getting checked.
Social media may be criticised, but it is bloody powerful.















