General mobilization of guinea pigs for testicular cancer prevention!
Indeed, do you know what the name of the giant female guinea pig is? La Cuy (pronounced LA KOU- YE).
So, in 2014, a Canadian advertising agency had the bright idea to use a hilarious homophone that defines both a breed of guinea pig and the vulgar synonym for testicle.
Of course, this choice is not innocent: it allows to communicate about testicular cancer prevention with humor.
In spite of the sensitivity of the subject, the communication angle is very cleverly set.
Thus, it is extremely funny and offbeat to talk about (KOU-YE) in an advertisement where the voice-over is very serious and seems to be that of a doctor to name the testicles.
Moreover, visually, the advertisers have chosen to show these little beasts to illustrate testicles.
When the spoken word and the visuals make it possible to make people laugh and play down a disease that is particularly feared by all men, then the advert has achieved its objectives.
First of all, testicular cancer is rare as it represents only 1% of all cancers.
Secondly, it is the most treatable cancer with almost 100% cure rate.
This ad is excellent because it serves its purpose perfectly:
First of all, the ad is not anxiety-provoking; it uses the metaphor that the guinea pig is a testicle!
Moreover, the ad is funny since it uses the principle of wordplay to hilariously convey a serious message.
Finally, the ad has an educational value, as it shows the palpation gestures necessary to make sure that there is no danger.
In conclusion, I hope you will laugh when you click on this video:
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PS: The use of the word “cobaye” in this article is to be taken in the linguistic sense. Indeed, the cuy (from Quechua Quwi, guinea pig) is the giant form of the rodent mammal called Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). cf: the Wikipedia article to read here.
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