• Copywriting
  • Photography
  • Production
  • Campaign
  • Video
  • Design

Raising awareness of Monkeypox

With a rising number of monkeypox cases being diagnosed within Australian gay male communities, Emen8 in partnership with ACON were looking to get ahead of the curve. They needed a campaign to raise awareness of the issue, but not scare people. The key messages were to know the symptoms, and encourage the take up of the free vaccine — available for all men that sleep with other men.

Drag queen fixing her hakeup looking down the camera for Emen8 monkeypox campaign.
Talent checks their skin in the mirror for Emen8 monkeypox campaign shoot.

Tackling a tricky topic

The big challenge for us to figure out was striking the balance between delivering the vital health message, while bringing life and character to the campaign. All too often, health communications can be overly clinical or too broad, and so less engaging for the target audience.

For this campaign our audience had a very clear sense of character and community. So to ensure the maximum impact of the health messaging, we needed to build trust, by authentically reflecting the audience in our creative.

Couple laughing in the bar for Emen8 monkeypox campaign shoot.
Talent leans against the bar looking concerned for Emen8 monkeypox campaign shoot.

Prick. Pause. Play.

We created a series of six vignettes for use across social platforms, all housed under the authoritative line, Prick. Pause. Play; each 15-second script engaging its audience by tapping into a different element of LQBTQ+ culture through its own character.

The videos were backed by digital banners and a set of posters to be placed in relevant locations across Australia. The posters build further on the character of the campaign, with bold visuals and punchy headlines, that are guaranteed to seize attention.

Talent in green jacket confidently smiles at camera while sipping coffee for Emen8 monkeypox campaign.
Bearded talent strains to zip into his latex suit.

A short sharp shoot

We shot the 6 ads in one location on the same day, forcing us to get creative with our setups to land the right setting and feel for each script. The talent was drawn from the LGBTQ+ community itself, bringing an extra level of approachability to the campaign.

Shea standing over talent in a latex suit lying on the ground for Emen8 Monkeypox campaign.
Crew and lighting setup behind the camera at the Emen* Monkeypox campaign shoot.
Behind the camera shooting talent at the bar for the Emen8 monkeypox campaign shoot.

An important campaign with character

The result was a striking suite of ads, packed with character, but never losing sight of the important messaging they needed to deliver — landing the fine balance between vital public awareness and engaging content that the audience could relate to.

Poster wall off all the different characters in the Emen8 monkeypox campaign.
Emen8 GIF featuring drag-queen for monkeypox campaign.
Emen8 monkeypox campaign poster featuring a person in a sequin hat.

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