Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, owners of Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, star in this short film in which a friendly wager ultimately results in both of them getting, filming and broadcasting their colonoscopies
The video, from Reynolds’ creative agency Maximum Effort, promotes the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s Lead From Behind initiative designed to raise awareness that colon cancer is preventable–the best way being to get a colonoscopy. In 2021, guidelines were revised, lowering the recommended age for a first colonoscopy from 50 to 45 for men. Reynolds and McElhenney both turned 45 this year.
“I’ve been on camera a lot. But this was the first time one was shoved up my ass,” said Reynolds. “The procedure and prep were painless but the discomfort of filming and sharing the process was the hardest part. Rob and I did it because we want this potentially life-saving procedure to be less mysterious and stigmatized.”
“Ryan and I both turned 45 this year and this is just a rite of passage,” added Rob McElhenney, “and a great one because it can literally save your life. It’s obviously a procedure that makes people uncomfortable but it sure beats getting cancer. We wanted to have fun with this because as with all the weird things that happen in life, why not make it fun instead of scary?”
Lead From Behind is founded by Brooks Bell, tech entrepreneur and colon cancer survivor, and powered by the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, the largest colon cancer nonprofit organization. Lead From Behind’s goal is to make colon cancer famous, inspire millions to get checked and save 100,000 lives.
“I was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer at 38. I’m a trend, not a tragedy,” says Brooks Bell, founder, LEAD FROM BEHIND and self-proclaimed Colonoscopy Enthusiast. “Around one in three people has a polyp by the time they are 45. Polyps usually have no symptoms. A colonoscopy will find them, and snip them out on the spot, preventing cancer down the road! After I was diagnosed, my 35 year old sister got her first colonoscopy and they found and removed a large polyp. It may have saved her life.”
“This year, 150,000 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. They don’t need to be because colon cancer is preventable,” says Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, who lost his mother to the disease in 2009 and created the Alliance that has served nearly 2 million patients and caregivers. “From a colonoscopy to an at-home FIT kit, to a Cologuard test, there’s a way for everyone to get checked. But first they need to want to. That’s why we’ve launched Lead From Behind, and we are beyond grateful to Ryan, Rob and the whole Maximum Effort team for shining a light on a 30-minute action that saves lives.”
Lead From Behind was created in partnership with Maximum Effort and brand marketer Chrysi Phialithes, former chief digital officer of (RED).
CreditsClient Colorectal Cancer Alliance/Lead From Behind initiative Agency Maximum Effort
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More