We created striking characters of the ‘influencers of ancient Rome’ on Tik Tok to get men talking about their mental health.
THE CHALLENGE
Movember traditionally raises funds by encouraging men to grow moustaches, but that does not have an impact on Men’s mental health, which is a key focus.
So this year they wanted us to help them do something to get men thinking about their mental health. A great army requires a great adversary and there is no greater adversary in New Zealand than mental health, particularly among men aged 18-34.
THE SOLUTION
Movember created a series of Ancient Influencers based on famous romans and gave them control of their global TikTok account. The Romans simply suggested that if a man the viewer loved was NOT thinking about the Roman Empire it might be a good idea to check in with him. It was a Trojan Horse* A serious question: ‘Are you ok?’ hidden in a reassuringly silly wrapping
(*Except it was better than a Trojan Horse. Because that was the ancient Greeks, and Romans are way better.)
With a limited paid media budget, the campaign relied heavily on contagious content to drive organic reach. The strategy behind this campaign was cleverly brought to life by leveraging the intersection of ancient history and modern technology. By partnering with “ancient influencers” like Marcus Aurelius and Julius Caesar, the campaign cleverly tapped into the viral “Roman Empire” trend on TikTok, engaging young men with a fresh, humorous twist.
Multiple generative AI platforms fed into the creative process, driven by the need for rapid, responsive content production. These tools enabled the design of statues, vocalisation of scripts, and the creation of powerful animations at virtually no production cost, allowing the campaign to evolve in real time as the trend gained momentum.
This innovative use of AI was not just a cost-saving measure but also a strategic choice that allowed for agility in content creation, ensuring that the campaign stayed relevant and timely.
By positioning the brand as an active participant in the trend, the team amplified the campaign’s visibility through strategic posting, including using TikTok’s native tools like stitches, duets, and video responses.
OUTCOME
We successfully repurposed the Roman Empire TikTok trend as a prompt for young men to reflect on their mental health. By speaking to the women in their lives through the trend, we were able to spark dialogue about men’s mental health, and get men thinking about how they were thinking. Even better yet, we were able to boost Movember fundraiser registrations and donations compared to the period prior.
- By reframing our mental health messaging, we successfully bypassed the immediate shutdown response that many young men exhibit toward mental health messaging, with only 18% saying they wouldn’t engage with this messaging—a 45% improvement.
- The campaign boosted registration numbers by 14% YOY, smashing our 5% target and delivering the lowest cost-per-registration, outperforming all markets – globally!
- We far surpassed our donation target, delivering a 33% increase beyond our initial target. Using this YOY increase in annual donations and the total campaign budget, this means the Ancient Influencers campaign delivered a 751% ROI for Movember in incremental donations.
AWARDS
- Best in Show, 2x Gold, 1x Bronze – IAB Awards
- 1x Gold – Pressie Awards
- 4x Bronze – Axis Awards
- 1x Bronze – Spikes Asia
