6. Public Health & Sport
Public health campaigns are a common occurrence in our day to day lives. The publicity for campaigns is strong and you can find information on campaigns everywhere. A health campaign is a type of media campaign which attempts to promote public health by making new health interventions available. The internet, television and radio being the spearheads for public campaign promotion. We all know examples of campaigns, we have grown up with the slip slop slap venture, to reduce our risks of skin cancer. Other well-known campaigns regarding public health are Movember, Freeze MND and the Pink ribbon foundation for breast cancer. Generally, these bigger campaigns are plugged by our national sport, but I will get into that below…
One of the popular campaigns that people like to participate in, is the Movember Foundation. This organisation is committed to saving men's lives by assisting them in any way they can. Issues that they try to focus on are men who suffer from testicular cancer, mental health problems, thoughts of suicide and prostate cancer. Using their well-established social media campaign #Movember annually, they propose a yearly challenge to all those partaking, to grow out the moustache, ditch the razors to raise awareness and funds.
Another great campaign that has gained traction over the past few years in the media is the Freeze MND foundation. They are raising funds to help find a cure for ALS which is Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). They were founded in 2014, but what you would know them best for is the freeze MND day they host at the MCG annually. Previous years have seen names such as Lleyton Hewitt, Eddie McGuire and Adam Gilchrist. The Fight MND foundation has also used social media to it’s advantage by spreading the ice bucket challenge. Overwhelming Facebook feeds, thousands of Australia’s took part in the ice bucket challenge raising awareness and funds for fight MND. This captivating campaign has raised millions of dollars for the foundation and has been a promotion that the whole footballing world as well as outside media have decided to support.
Link to Freeze MND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UiwN47E5e8
This link highlights the amazing initiative that is freeze MND.
It seems that public health and mental health in particular has been given a lot of attention by the media of late and rightfully so. What I haven’t been able to decide is why now? Why is there such an emphasis on mental health now instead of 10 years ago and beyond? I personally believe it is the initiative of sporting organisations across the country. The AFL is arguable Australia’s most popular sport and the AFL have been the leader in mental health awareness which has caused other organisations, the media and most importantly the public, to get involved and make a change. The AFL have gotten right behind the public health campaigns, freeze MND, Movember and the pink ribbon, in supporting them and giving them a national platform to do good. Sport and media obviously go hand in hand, and it seems that health campaigns are following suite to gain exposure. I believe the AFL deserve a round of applause (**deafening claps are heard).
