De Alba Cancer Foundation is non-profit organization that works to reduce the social impact of cancer in México, providing support to people with cancer in a state of social and economic vulnerability, so that they receive the medical care they need and generating health promotion and cancer prevention programs.

Concerned about the situation of testicular cancer in Mexico, which registers more than 3,337 new cases every year and is the second most lethal type of cancer in men between 15 and 35 years old, the foundation needed to help young men become aware of timely diagnosis and have a faster and more accessible diagnostic method.

The Objectives:

• Find a way to make young men find early diagnosis attractive.

• Generate relevan contet for the target.

• Help young men receive a quick, timely and accessible diagnosis.

• Present a new method of diagnosis in a humoristic and challenging way.

A few years ago, a young British man tested positive on a pregnancy test. From that moment, it was discovered that some types of testicular cancer produce the same hormone as embryos, which is the indicator in pregnancy tests.   

Clinical studies show that a hormone produced by embryos is also produced by some types of testicular cancer, and this hormone is detected in pregnancy tests. The De Alba Foundation has transformed this discovery into a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the prevention of testicular cancer with Test-icles, the first campaign that helps men detect potential testicular cancer with a common pregnancy test. The campaign also had a call to action, asking men to see a doctor.

After market research, it was identified that men between 15 and 35 years old are ashamed to examine themselves and do not like to go to the doctor. This is the reason why 50% of diagnoses occur in advanced stages, which increases the prevalence of this disease. Men between 15 and 35 years old are the population with the highest risk of testicular cancer and represent more than 19% of the country's total population. 50% of them were located in the main cities and urban areas of the country. This target is characterized by having a great capacity to respond to significant content. To capture their attention, the campaign uses a key message: if you have balls, you should take a pregnancy test. This allowed the development of a differentiated experience around detection, including a humoristic and challenging tone of voice in different media channels.

The campaign started in March 2024 with the creation of Tano & Nato, two characters inspired by the word “Tanates”, a popular name for testicles in Mexico.

They helped create a fun and entertaining message that launched on April 1st, 2024, across OOH, digital and social media, including short films and organic posts.

All communications were directed to testicles.mx, where men found more information about the disease, a medical directory and how a pregnancy test could help them diagnose it. At the same time, more than 56 influencers received a kit to join the campaign, getting tested or inviting a man to get tested. Everyone was talking about it.

Then, the campaign was presented to national and international media to amplify its impact, allowing it to become a topic of conversation.

Test-icles has generated significant attention and has gained wide reach and acceptance among men aged 15 to 35. With a donated media budget close to $17,000 USD, the collaboration of more than 56 influencers, and organic social posts, the campaign reached 17,532,873 impressions, 36,049 interactions, and 19,878 website visits in its first month.

The message was amplified by more than 34 media, making it present throughout Latin America, United States, and some countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Transforming something that until now was used exclusively to find out if a woman was pregnant, Test-icles has created a new diagnostic method and continues increasing the engagement of young people in the early detection of testicular cancer.

Even the ease and low cost of this method is beginning to be evaluated in other emerging economies for its implementation.