18 March 2013

Race for Life Ladies Destroy a Car – A Violent but Veracious Visual Metaphor


I think you will love this. If you live outside of dear old Blighty then you may not know that Cancer Research UK's Race for Life is the largest women-only fundraising event in the United Kingdom.  Since Race for Life began in 1994, 6 million participants across the UK have raised over £493 million for the charity.  That is quite something but the participants plan to raise much, much more until cancer is consigned to history.

Until then a visual metaphor will have to make do – and so a car is cancer’s stand in here. To show they mean business a gang of women take various implements to the car and proceed to have great fun smashing the thing to bits - by the end the car is completely destroyed (of that there is no doubt!).

Anything which starts with this car represents cancer: over the next two minutes we will take it down is good for my money. This is Race for Life's answer to the Harlem Shake: the video is quite simply full of enormous joie de vivre and the ladies certainly go at the car with considerable gusto.  This year’s participants in Race for Life are being encouraged to use this video as a warm up for the race by following a dance routine to this promo.  Connection by the incomparable and much missed Elastica is the soundtrack and the video is directed by David Wilson through the Mother London agency.

Cancer - We're coming to get you!