Movember worshippers gather in desert to hail coming of giant 'tache

Movember is celebrating 20 years of charitable facial hair cultivation with a campaign that features people making a pilgrimage across a desert to herald the arrival of a gigantic, silvery moustache.

 

The TV spot breaks in the UK during tonight's Pride of Britain awards on ITV.

 

Planned and bought in the UK by Bicycle London, "The Mo is calling" was created by DDB Melbourne and is going live today (12 October) in the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, Australia, the US, Canada and New Zealand.

 

At its centre is a 60-second TV spot, directed by Matt Devine through Revolver, that opens with two moustachioed men in shades straight out of a 1970s B-flick, driving down a desert highway.

 

They are followed by a group of Easy Rider-style bikers, then a group of cycle-helmeted dudes on e-scooters.

 

A "Mohound" bus pulls up at an isolated stop, where one man waits. The action cuts to the point of view of the driver, with the doors opening to reveal the man, not wearing shades, clean shaven, on the geeky side. "Hi, is this the 247?" he asks. The (moustachioed) driver silently gestures with his head for the man to get on. Everyone on board wears facial hair – among the passengers a hippy, a boxer, an airline pilate and a rocker with Strat guitar. They greet him with a "Mo". The man smiles nervously.

 

The action returns to the bikers, scooter riders and the men in the car, who greet each other with a "Mo". By the time the bus and convoy have reached their destination, the bus passenger has grown a 'tache.

 

The action moves to a large group congregating in the desert, all chanting "Mo", as a giant silvery moustache descends from the sky like an alien craft. The chanting intensifies and a voiceover intones: "The Mo is calling. Raise funds, save lives. Sign up with Movember.com."

 

The ad is designed to show how people come together to help men's health, whether that's mental health, suicide, prostate cancer or testicular cancer.

 

The campaign spans TV, video-on-demand, TalkSport sponsorship, sponsorship of Peter Crouch's Therapy Crouch podcast and Football Ramble pod, out of home, including on buses, 96- and 48-sheets, programmatically bought digital, paid social and a partnership with Joe Media.

 

 

The TV work will run on shows including Loose Women, This Morning, The Chase and Jamie Martin's Great British Adventures.

 

The campaign was created by Stephen de Wolf, Psembi Kinstan, Giles Watson, Charlie Brookes, Josh Brown, Anneliese Sullivan and Sebastian Covino.

 

Giles Watson, DDB Melbourne's group creative partner, said: "We have turned the Movember Mo into the bat symbol for uniting men. The Illuminati has the all seeing eye, Movember has the Mo. It's a symbol of unity, and whenever it's seen, men across the world will know they are never alone. Help and hope are always close by if you follow the Mo! Mo! Mo! Mo!".

 

The idea for Movember was conceived in a bar in Fitzroy in Australia two decades ago.