We started by understanding the ‘rules’ that make a youth celebrity.

Rule 1: Have an Intriguing Backstory.

We constructed and communicated our celebrity's history. We named him Al Bino, due to his sun sensitivity, then enlisted a renowned producer to write his debut track. We seeded stories about this collaboration in the media and created online profiles where people could learn more.

Rule 2: Be Culturally Provocative.

We called Al’s debut track ‘It’s a beautiful day…for cancer’ and featured a singing melanoma in the video which we posted online.

Rule 3: Achieve Community Endorsement.

Through advertising and editorial partnerships with Myspace and magazines we reached music influencers.

Rule 4: Go Mass but Stay Aspirational.

Al started conducting radio interviews and his track went into rotation. A TV and billboard campaign boosted his fame further. Ambient media (stickers, T-shirts) enabled kids to show support, before Al embarked on a live tour.

After just one month 40% of the audience knew Al Bino – we’d successfully created a celebrity. This enabled us to achieve millions of dollars in PR and free media (through TV and radio networks playing the track). Because the message came from a source credible to the audience we impacted both the attitudes and behaviours of young Australians.

The video received 275,000 views and thousands of comments. For the first time young people were really conversing about skin cancer. Research revealed that 55% of the audience would adopt more methods of sun protection having seen the campaign.