Fame, as we’ve seen from the endless cycle of celebrities being thrust into the spotlight then suddenly and brutally being cancelled, can be a tricky power to harness
Especially when it comes to advertising. Having celebrities become part of your campaign is like bringing two brands together. The views people have of celebrities you partner with, they’ll in turn associate with your brand too. But if done right, we truly think fame is an incredible tool for reaching wider audiences and raising awareness.
We recently had a very unique experience of this. At the end of June we put on a comedy night, ‘Menopause: It’s a right laugh’, at the London Hippodrome for Menopause Mandate — a group of incredible women from all walks of life, whose goal it is to revolutionise the support and advice women receive when experiencing menopause and perimenopause. Our idea was simple; a night of hilarious female comedians making jokes about menopause and being a woman. All to spread awareness, educate, and finally let us women crack the menopause jokes ourselves (instead of everyone else making the jokes about us). We immediately knew the key to really making this show something special would be nailing a top lineup.
Having an all-female comedy lineup was unconventional anyway. But getting one filled with the magnitude of the names we had probably made it the best line-up of comedians any comedy show could have anywhere in the country. It included the likes of Jo Brand, Jenny Eclair, Nina Conti, Thanyia Moore, and Jen Brister, not to mention TV legend Davina McCall as our host. Just as (if not more) important as famous names, was ensuring that we had a broad representation of menopause experiences from different ethnicities, ages, and communities.
There are roughly 16 million women over the age of 45 in the UK, and menopause is the one thing all of them are either currently experiencing, or will experience in the next decade. We’ve all heard of the famous symptoms: hot sweats, brain fog, uncontrollable emotions. But in reality, there are over 34 symptoms, of which every woman will have a different experience. These range from hot flushes and uncontrollable emotions, to depression and suicidal ideation. When trying to seek medical help, women are met with the fact that over a quarter of them experiencing menopause are misdiagnosed by their GP. Even the NHS health check (offered to women over the age of 40) in the UK does not currently contain information about this time of life. This in itself was a vital part of why this comedy night was so important.
As well as spreading awareness and breaking down barriers, we were making noise and gathering supporters for Menopause Mandate’s MM40+ petition, which is lobbying for the inclusion of menopause information into these health checks. These symptoms have been the butt of the joke for everyone not experiencing them. Honestly, we’ve all been guilty of cracking the odd hot flush joke on our partner’s or mum’s behalf (ourselves included).
That’s why we were so motivated to put on this event. Instead of poking fun at or making light of menopause, we used comedy to break down taboos and highlight the truth of women’s experiences.
It’s not that menopause itself is a taboo per se. Rather it’s the uncomfortable truths of it, as with many things, that we choose to avoid discussing. And that’s exactly what the power of comedy is so brilliant at tackling. As chair of Menopause Mandate, Mariella Frostrup, so brilliantly put it, ‘For one night, the tables were turned on those enduring toxic tropes. Menopause was the punchline, but this time it’s on our terms.’
It’s a tricky balance to strike — humour and sensitivity
Great comedians invite the audience to grapple with their own misconceptions and actually contemplate how they view something — all whilst giving us the incredible gift of laughter.
Laughing with, rather than laughing at, is so much more powerful. It makes the tougher parts of life easier to swallow and shows us that sharing in them is essential. What our comedians for Menopause: It’s a right laugh did so well was educate as they entertained. They turned our assumptions into their truths, all in a positive and inspiring way.
It’s safe to say that putting on a show like this was completely untrodden ground to us. Our days as junior creatives usually consist of brainstorming, storyboarding, and staring at blank slides in decks for far too long hoping an idea would magically appear. Certainly not watching 350 celebrities, patrons, advocates, and supporters of Menopause Mandate gather to watch a show that started as one of our proactive ideas. But along the way we were amazed at the generosity and willingness of people to help, not just our famous comedians, but everyone creating and coming to watch the show too.
Important causes can seem daunting. There’s so much work to do and so much you want to help change. It won’t all happen with one campaign, or in one comedy show. But lots of small (or big) acts can add up. When you use the right tools for the right causes, in this case fame and comedy to break taboos and spread awareness, you can inspire real action.
Featured image: Lara Hallam and Hannah Rendell / Dark Horses
