TBWA Singapore men lose facial hair to raise cash for prostate cancer research

ASIA-PACIFIC – SINGAPORE – NOVEMBER 2011:  How does an agency take the Movember Movement to the next level? The menfolk of TBWA\ Singapore took a unique approach this year by offering up hirsute this month to raise awareness–and funds–for prostate cancer research.

 

After a shave-free month, 85 male staff put their beards up for auction, with the winning bidders in total control of the shave-off design.

Creations range from Borat and Hitler style moustaches to polka dots, contributing over SGD10,000 – three times the amount raised last year – was collected for the Singhealth Foundation to go towards furthering Singhealth’s research into prostate cancer.

 

Held over three weeks in November, the auction drew 201 bids from 184 active participants and the entire agency pitched in with other fund-raising efforts including a bake-off and pie throwing competition.

 

The highest bid  – a staggering $1,000 – offered for TBWA\ Singapore’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Alrick Dorett. Following closely behind was Brent Farrell, Managing Director – Digital with a $970 bid and Philip Brett, President of TBWA Asia Pacific, South and South-East Asia with $700.

 

The faint-hearted were given an option to match the bid amount and only wear the design for 24 hours instead of the seven days pledged in the spirit of Mo’ Lest. That escape route raised an additional SGD1000.

 

The Mo’Lest website developed specially for the event – molesttbwa.com – received more than 3,000 unique visitors and close to 40,000 page views in the 23 days. The campaign reached out to audiences across 70 different countries including US, China, Finland and India.

 

“It was great to see every single person in the agency getting involved and involving their friends and family in making a contribution to the cause,” added Alrick Dorett.