THE MO-HAIR SUIT

Short List
TitleTHE MO-HAIR SUIT
BrandPOLITIX
Product / ServiceMENSWEAR, FASHION.
CategoryE05. Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
EntrantBULLFROG MEDIA South Yarra, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation BULLFROG MEDIA South Yarra, AUSTRALIA
PR TWO BIRDS TALKING Redfern, AUSTRALIA
Production BULLFROG MEDIA South Yarra, AUSTRALIA
Post Production BULLFROG MEDIA South Yarra, AUSTRALIA
Post Production 2 GUSTO MUSIC Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Post Production 3 CRAYON South Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Additional Company POLITIX Burnley, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Daniel Sparkes Bullfrog Creative Director
Dalton Henshaw Bullfrog CEO
Daniel Sparkes Bullfrog Creative Director
Lauren Eddy Bullfrog Senior Copywriter
Andrew Fisher Bullfrog Senior Copywriter
Lauren Eddy Bullfrog Senior Copywriter
Katarina Matic Bullfrog Senior Art Director
Andrew Fisher Bullfrog Senior Copywriter
Trent Hendrick Bullfrog Senior Art Director
Katarina Matic Bullfrog Senior Art Director
Trent Hendrick Bullfrog Senior Art Director
Wil de Souza Bullfrog Senior Account Director
Chris King Bullfrog Senior Producer
Sarah Lay Bullfrog Producer
Pamela Kleemann-Passi Pamela Kleemann-Passi Material Artist
Sam Wong Bullfrog Director / Photographer
David Tse Bullfrog Editor
Colin Simkins Gusto Studios Sound Engineer
Dan Stonehouse Crayon Colourist
Richard Dalke Politix Head of Marketing
Paul Burden Politix Head of Design and Creative
Marissa Falting Politix Tailoring Designer
Andrew Vance Politix Social, PR and Events Manager
Melanie Stow Politix Senior Graphic Designer
Brad McLennan Politix Cut and Sew Designer
Courtney Ward Movember Strategic Partnerships Manager
Kieran Ryan Movember Head of Corporate Partnerships
Katie Bailey Movember Senior Manager Corporate Partnerships
Sarah Turner Two Birds Talking Senior Account Manager - PR
Annabel Robinson Two Birds Talking Junior Account Manager - PR
Brittany Manning Two Birds Talking Account Coordinator - PR

Why is this work relevant for PR?

POLITIX x Movember needed an especially newsworthy campaign this year, to rise above the noise of COVID-19, making space in the media for conversations around men's health. The Mo-Hair Suit was the battering ram for their PR-led campaign, specifically designed to attract earned media attention for men's health. Its weirdness and controversy were key to its success—was it a work of art, or was it just gross? The PR strategy executed by POLITIX x Movember was tailored to fit their target audience, and the suit itself, targeting health, fashion, art and culture publications, plus broadcast news and lifestyle for reach.

Background

Millions of men die from preventable causes every year, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide. Too often, because they believe it's 'weak' or 'unmanly' to speak up about their health. Australian menswear label POLITIX believes in helping all men look good, feel good and do good. That's why they partner with Movember each year, raising funds and awareness to help change the face of men's health. But the POLITIX x Movember campaign was in danger of receiving little media attention this year, due to COVID-19 dominating all health discourse. Together, they needed a massive PR boost to be heard above the noise of the pandemic. The POLITIX brief was for a new PR-led campaign, to: -Start conversations in the media around men's health -Encourage men to talk about their physical and mental health -Demonstrate POLITIX's promise of 'look good, feel good, do good' through their Movember partnership

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We leaned into POLITIX and Movember's famous brand assets (tailored suits and mo's) to create a controversial fashion statement even 'men of few words' would talk about: a Mo-Hair Suit—made from real moustaches. We partnered with artist Pam Kleemann-Passi—who specialises in hair-art and had sadly lost her husband to prostate cancer—to create the world-first fabric using hundreds of moustache clippings from men across Australia. This was tailored into a POLITIX suit, uncannily resembling the brand's most popular design, finished with a Movember logo-shaped moustache-hair pin. Inside, the suit's lining features messages from people whose lives have been touched by men's mental health and suicide, testicular cancer and prostate cancer. The POLITIX x Movember 'Worn to be Heard' campaign presented the Mo-Hair Suit as both oddity and artwork, designed to challenge, intrigue and amuse. A physical manifestation of the brand partnership, and a tangible reason to talk about men's health.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Many Australian men won't talk about their health—unless someone else brings it up. What POLITIX x Movember needed to do was kick-start conversations for these 'men of few words' (our audience), by giving them something to talk about. Our PR strategy was to use the Mo-Hair Suit as a battering ram to break through the wall of COVID-19 health news. Once we had men's attention, we partnered with talent to start conversations in the media around men's health. They all shared POLITIX x Movember's key message—Worn to be Heard—alongside a call to action of "Men, we need to talk." We targeted specific media outlets relevant to the suit and our audience, including health, men's fashion, art and culture publications, plus broadcast and lifestyle media for reach. Alongside film and photography assets, we shared tailored press releases linking to the POLITIX x Movember campaign page, housed on POLITIX's website.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

We shared the campaign assets and tailored press releases with specific media outlets in October. Art publications and galleries were contacted via Pam, on behalf of POLITIX x Movember, for authenticity in the art world. We negotiated with Today—a popular Australian breakfast TV show—for the suit's launch, where Karl Stefanovic wore the suit while interviewing Pam about the suit's design, and Anthony 'the Blue Wiggle' Field about his struggles with Depression. The POLITIX x Movember campaign ran from 29th October to 30th November. We leveraged the suit's eccentricity to secure global coverage in that time, reaching 26M+ people via TV, radio, print, online and social. Journalists and media outlets in the US, UK, France, Mexico, Argentina, UAE, Egypt, India, Russia, Greece, Vietnam, Indonesia—to name a few—were talking about the POLITIX x Movember Mo-Hair Suit, and starting their own conversations around men's health. Even Guinness World Records called—watch this space.

List the results (30% of vote)

Following direct PR outreach from the POLITIX x Movember partnership, our campaign featured in TV, radio, print, online and social media press in Australia and internationally, including the Today show, ABC Radio National, Men's Health Magazine, NBC LX, DMARGE and more. The suit was unveiled on national TV, modelled by Today show host Karl Stefanovic. In this segment he interviewed both Pam, the artist, and Anthony (the Blue Wiggle) Field, whom we had engaged as a POLITIX x Movember ambassador to share his personal journey with mental health. Other hero ambassadors for the 'Worn to be Heard' campaign included TV personality Sam Mac and Hamilton star Lyndon Watts, plus a raft of seeding talent who started conversations with their social followers, encouraging men to speak up when they're struggling, including actor Vince Colosimo, AFL star Nic Naitanui and singer Rob Mills. The Mo-Hair Suit got millions of men talking about their health during Movember, and it will keep doing so. As a world-first oddity and artwork, it has attracted interest from Guinness World Records and several Australian galleries—watch this space. The overall campaign sentiment was positive, with all talent and media articles driving further awareness to the POLITIX x Movember cause, increasing positive brand sentiment for POLITIX and their promise of 'look good, feel good, do good'. -Approx. $2.7M+ in earned media -Approx. 26M+ reach -Engagement rate: 8.65% -POLITIX raised $100K in donations for Movember

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