Test campaign

It’s a serious topic, but Campbell-Ewald Advertising opted for an offbeat approach in a national public-service ad campaign to promote colon-cancer screenings on behalf of the Ad Council for the American Cancer Society.

The 15- and 30-second spots star “Polyp Man,” a pesky character dressed as a large red polyp. He is pursued and appre hended by white-coated doctors, who work like aggressive police. The ads use voiceovers by actor Tim Allen and conclude with the tag line, “Get the test. Get the polyp. Get the cure.”

The campaign includes radio, Internet and print advertising and will debut in time for Colon Cancer Aware ness Month in March.

“When you work on a campaign that has the potential to save more than 56,000 lives every year, you do not want it to be invisible or ordi nary,” said Bill Ludwig, vice chairman and chief creative officer of the Warren, Mich., agency.