No woman should die of a cancer we can prevent.
Yet, cervical cancer rates are rising, particularly in young women and black women.
More than half of women diagnosed haven’t been screened in the previous five years, and awareness, access and urgency have completely stalled.
To change that, we set out to make cervical cancer more visible and urgent by connecting it to one of the fastest-growing cultural movements in America – women's basketball. The sport's rapidly growing, highly engaged, multicultural fan base mirrors the women most impacted, creating a timely opportunity for our message.
Our teammate: Erica Wheeler, a women’s professional basketball star whose mother tragically died from cervical cancer.
Our objective: Partner with Wheeler to turn prevention from a medical recommendation into a personal call to action and motivate women to get screened before cancer enters the game.
Cervical cancer rates aren’t rising because prevention doesn't exist. They’re rising because women aren't aware of the importance of screening.
To close that gap, we launched Ultimate Defense, a campaign that reimagines cervical cancer prevention through the lens of women's basketball.
At the heart of our campaign: A PSA-style film featuring Wheeler in custom gear, sharing her mother’s story and showing women how to play the ultimate defense –- on and off the court.
“On the court, the best defense is about coverage,” said Wheeler. “When it comes to protecting against cervical cancer, the ultimate defense begins with screening.”
Our execution led with earning attention across media and social. We then amplified with paid media, including Connected TV. We also rebranded our website and created a vanity URL – YourUltimateDefense.com – so women have a screening playbook at their fingertips.
We even showed up in the exam room. We created Ultimate Defense socks to be distributed to women undergoing cervical screenings. This brought “defense” into the stirrups as a tangible symbol of comfort and support. Score!
By combining cultural relevance, authentic storytelling and clear health education, the Ultimate Defense proved to be a slam dunk. Key metrics:
Importantly, brand lift study results showed movement from awareness to action among women, especially young women and black women:
