In 2023, Movember celebrated 20 years of changing the face of men's health. Their annual fundraising event would see five million moustaches grown around the world to raise money for men's health efforts.

Despite the popularity and success of Movember, the fact remained: men are still dying too young. And a big part of this boils down to one simple reason: men don't see the doctor. A cultural phenomenon that is particularly evident in Australia, where men are taught to be 'tough' and 'self-reliant', and seeking help is perceived as a sign of weakness.

Movember Australia wanted to leverage the popularity of their annual fundraising event to encourage men to proactively engage with their own health. They needed an idea that made it easy, fun and motivating, and most importantly, reduced the social stigma attached to medical help seeking.

Our solution was Mancestry - a world-first scientific test that uses history to keep men healthy, by analysing the DNA in their moustache hairs and linking it to great moustachioed men from history.

Crucially, each Mancestry test also uncovers personalised data revealing the health markers within the DNA that each man should be aware of, prompting potentially life-saving conversations with healthcare professionals.

Utilising the strategy of “health by stealth”, Mancestry made it fun, easy and motivating for Australian men to proactively engage with their own health.

If Movember has taught us anything about men, it's that they're far more likely to do something if it's fun, motivating and drives connections with people they like and respect (aka role models).

So, we thought, how could we connect the same behaviours men have during Movember to something as prickly, pushed down, and avoided as knowing and proactively managing their own health?

Our strategy was to leverage the moustache that men were already growing to raise money for Movember, in a way that could also help start a conversation about the importance of early intervention and proactive risk management. Doing so by stealth, to overcome the gender norms of self-reliance and stoicism that tell men not to seek medical help. And of course, in the same shared, silly, fun way that got men involved with Movember in the first place.

During November, we launched Mancestry as a world-first scientific test that could help men find greatness in their ancestry by analysing the DNA in their moustache hair and linking it to great moustachioed men from history.

High-profile Australian influencers with a combined social following of over 10 million took part in a "preliminary testing program”. They documented and shared every step on their own social channels as they sent in their samples and received their results.

Utilising their footage, we created an online film that formally launched Mancestry and invited men across the country to apply.

Those who applied received a test kit in the mail. Once their samples were sent back to the lab for analysis, they received their results in a personalised report. The report linked them to a great moustachioed man from history, while providing vital health insights that prompted conversations with healthcare professionals.

High-profile Australian influencers with a combined reach of over 10 million took part and shared their results, sparking a nationwide conversation about the importance of proactive risk management.

As an example of the DNA results uncovered, influencer Andrew Hearnden shared his Mancestry with his 3M+ followers, tracing his heritage back to Richard the Lionheart and England 1199 CE, a heritage that can impact Prostate Specific Antigen Levels, an indicator useful for the early detection of prostate cancer.

The combination of conversations about proactive healthcare and surrounding campaign generated an uplift across the month of November of +1,552% in mentions on social media, 1.5m media reach within Australia, and a 57% increase in participating Australian men speaking to healthcare professionals.

Mancestry has incredible potential to become an annual event that enables more men to proactively engage with their health, and offers invaluable lessons for future men’s health initiatives.