Half the population will develop some form of cancer over their lifetime. Among the many side effects of diagnosis and treatment, one is often hushed away; the loss of libido. Even though 60% of women with cancer say they experience sexual dysfunction, rarely are the words cancer and sex uttered together.

Back in November, GIRLvsCANCER changed that. Three sensual films and a bold OOH activation depict close-up nudes of women with experience of cancer and declares to the world “Cancer won’t be the last thing that f*cks me”.

It’s unapologetic, provocative and deeply beautiful. The film scripts were developed in close collaboration with the women, so the stories are real and raw.

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After a 20 year hiatus, Dove has returned to the iconic Superbowl advertising slot with a healthy dose of self love messaging.

The brand’s “Hard Knocks” campaign demonstrates that the emotional trauma of low self esteem keeps girls from playing sport, rather than the hard tackles of football and the failed landings in gymnastics.

As part of the Game Day message, Dove partnered with Nike to create Body Confident Sport – a set of coaching tools to build body confidence in 11-17-year-old girls. To date, their self-esteem initiatives have reached more than 100 million young people globally in 150 countries since 2004.

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Six people every day are diagnosed with incurable Motor Neurone Disease in the UK. One charity aims to bring awareness to the disease with a TV-worthy love story campaign.

Recognising the need to reach new audiences, the charity turned to the power of soaps. The charity partnered with Coronation Street to consult on an authentic portrayal of a character living with MND and the effect on his relationships. In an ITV first, the charity broadcast its own love-story campaign during ad-breaks using the voice of the character.

The blending of entertainment and commercials doubles down on awareness, broadcasting the effects of MND to the homes of five million regular viewers.

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Among the profiles, pick-up lines and prompts, can purpose marketers learn anything from the rise of online dating?

Online dating is no longer a story of boy meets girl. Today, over 1,500 dating apps cater for our increasingly fluid, non-conforming society. One app being Feeld, which has focused on inclusivity since the start. The app offered members more than 20 gender identities and 20 sexuality options since its first incarnation as 3nder in 2014.

Speaking to Future Laboratory, Ana Kirova, Feeld’s Product Lead, explained, “we’ve learnt that a lot of people who are tired of trying to fit into a box want to explore and see what else is out there”. Another app, Bumble, shook up gender norms with the founding principle that women make the first move.

Today, online dating is not even a story of romantic love. A growing number of apps forge platonic connections based on mutual passions, fandoms and subcultures. From ‘Working Moms’ to ‘Pet Parents’, ‘Recent Grads’ to ‘Money Makers’, ‘Single, Not Alone’ to ‘Builders of a Better Word’, there’s a tribe for almost anything.  

As an industry that drives meaningful connections between like-minded individuals looking to find love (after a few swipe-lefts), can purpose marketers use the same formula to bring people together to find purpose?

To read more about what this means for purpose marketing, click here

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