In 2020, amid COVID and declining trust in health authorities, cancer screening rates plummeted. Colorectal cancer (CRC), a deadly but easy-to-prevent disease, was projected to increase 90% by 2030. Gen X, the generation at the recommended CRC screening age of 45+, demonstrated the lowest screening rates and high cancer incidence.  The CDC needed to move CRC screening from the bottom of Gen X’s “to-do” list to a health priority. 

We created short-form social video content to reach those aged 45+ and shift screening from “another medical to-do” to “an easy way to look out for the people you love”– positioning screening as a fierce act of love, for the people who love you. “The Bums and the Bees” is a caring talk between a father and his 45-year-old son about CRC screening. With a humorous approach reminiscent of the age-old sex talk, CRC screening was positioned as an act of love worth finding out more about.