Having the balls to check: How a pregnancy test could save men’s lives

A campaign backed by two Ogilvy agencies wants men to take a pregnancy test to diagnose testicular cancer. Yes, seriously.

The recently launched Test-icles campaign, which was created by Ogilvy Mexico and Ogilvy Health New York in support of the Alba Foundation, encourages men to take a pregnancy test to find out if they have a cancer that impacts one in every 250 males during their lifetimes. 

While the practice may seem counterintuitive from a medical perspective and fly in the face of stigmas around pregnancy tests, these tests can actually detect a hormone that is produced in certain types of testicular cancer. 

That’s an important consideration given that around 10,000 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. annually, with the highest incidence rates coming from the 15 to 35 age cohort. The cancer, while common, is ultimately treatable and survivable if detected and diagnosed early enough.

To normalize conversations around testicular cancer and the act of taking a pregnancy test to understand one’s health status, the campaign’s 40-second ad features a pair of gonads — Tano and Nato — who take a pregnancy test and find out they are negative for the disease.

The ad concludes with a punchy tagline: “Have the balls to take a pregnancy test!”

The initiative was rolled out as part of an awareness push during Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, complete with a marketing presence across several social media platforms, digital media channels as well as an OOH placement in Times Square this week.

The Alba Foundation, founded and led by Mexican model and TV presenter Rebecca de Alba, was established in 2008 to support Mexicans diagnosed with cancer, particularly those from vulnerable communities and underserved patient populations. 

The disease affects thousands of Mexican patients each year, which made it critical to conceive and deploy an ad campaign that empowers male patients to overcome the fear of embarrassment and take charge of their health. 

“Building alliances between different sectors of society allows us to have a greater impact and reach with the Foundation’s initiatives,” Miryana Pérez Vela, general director of the Alba Foundation, stated. “For almost 14 years we’ve worked to raise awareness among the population about early detection of testicular cancer, a type of cancer that, if detected in its early stages and with the right treatment, has a very good prospect of being cured.”

Ogilvy Mexico and Ogilvy New York stepped up to the challenge of longstanding biases related to testicular cancer and aimed for the campaign to use humor to improve patient outcomes.

“Encouraging men to take a pregnancy test is a bold move. Test-icles shatters barriers and delivers a delightful surprise,” Renata Maia, chief creative officer of Ogilvy Health North America, said in a statement. “This demonstrates the power of leveraging scientific understanding to innovate product usage, ultimately saving lives. By promoting a new diagnostic method and facilitating early detection, we not only make healthcare more accessible but also foster positive lifestyle changes for enhanced quality of life.”