This year you don’t have to be a bro to grow a mo says latest campaign for Movember via Us&Co
The month of moustachioed madness is in full swing where men across the globe dedicate their upper lips to a month of glorious bushiness. This year for the first time, Movember is open to everyone, men, women, children, and the most follicly challenged can all have a go.
Last night The Movember Foundation launched its Movember Virtual Mo on Google Play enabling anyone, specifically Mo Sistas, to grow their own virtual moustache on their mobile phone. Choose your style of Mo and you’re away. The campaign has been created by Us&Co.
The Virtual Mo will display on smartphone lock screens so users can watch it grow before their very eyes, show it off and share it proudly with anyone they meet. The moustache will grow dynamically hair-by-hair resulting in a fully-fledged crumb catcher at the end of the month at which stage users will be prompted to donate to the cause.
Says James Polhill, founder, Us&Co: “Our mobile lock screens often display who or what we love the most. Our children, our partners or our pets. If we can get the country to donate their mobile lock screens for the month of Movember, it will make a huge difference to the cause. With the support of some generous media partners the campaign will be broadcast throughout the country in the coming weeks and you can expect to see some of our high profile talent growing this year. I’d encourage as many people as possible to grow a Virtual Mo, get involved and talk openly about men’s health.”
Over the last decade more than 100,000 men have grown moustaches in New Zealand in support of men’s health and over the last eight years, their efforts during Movember have raised more than $12 million, directly benefitting 37 men’s health programmes in the country. Over NZ$919 million has been raised worldwide since 2003 and 1,000 men’s health projects have been funded.
Says Robert Dunne, Movember New Zealand: “This year more people than ever before will be able to show their support and get in behind the cause by growing a Virtual Mo on their smartphone. The Virtual Mo makes Movember accessible to almost anyone. It’s a great way to engage a much wider community and give Mo Sistas another brilliant way to engage with Movember. Plus it’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone that downloads the app to watch their Mo grow and share it with their friends and family.”
For potential Mo Bros, Mo Sistas and Virtual Mo growers looking for the motivation to get involved, men’s health statistics speak for themselves. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Kiwi men, with approximately 3,000 cases registered each year with testicular cancer the most prolific amongst younger men aged 15 to 35 years. Alarmingly, one in eight New Zealand men will suffer from depression over their lifetime and our youth suicide rates continue to be one of the highest in the world.
Helping change the face of men’s health has never been easier.