The archive · PR & Stunts · Marketing decision · 2023
Borussia Dortmund's centre-circle bump turns the pitch into a check-up reminder
After Haller's cancer, Dortmund put a tumour-sized bump on the centre circle on World Cancer Day — and at half-time told men to screen.
Borussia Dortmund
What it had to solve
After Borussia Dortmund's new signing Sébastien Haller was diagnosed with testicular cancer, the club wanted to raise awareness of check-ups among men. World Cancer Day coincided with Haller's return to the starting XI against SC Freiburg, giving the message a perfect stage.
How it works
Borussia Dortmund's new star striker Sébastien Haller was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and the club wanted to push men toward check-ups. The message found its moment when World Cancer Day coincided with Haller's return to the starting XI against SC Freiburg.
Accenture Song Brand Germany added a big bump to the pitch's centre circle to symbolise a tumour, turning the stadium's most watched surface into a body with something to check. Fans shared photos and memes, and media around the world covered the bump.
When the buzz reached its peak, the club resolved it at half-time: men were called upon to screen themselves under the motto 'A hand ball that could save your life.' The stunt ended in action rather than applause, and D&AD keeps the work in its awards archive under PR.
Why it lands
- The bump used the most visible surface in the stadium, so the message was unmissable without a word of lecturing.
- Timing it to Haller's first start on World Cancer Day made the cause personal and newsworthy at the same moment.
- Letting fans make it funny first meant the image spread as play and meme rather than as a charity appeal.
- Ending at half-time turned accumulated buzz into an action moment, telling men exactly what to do when attention was highest.
What it did
The pitch-size symbol made an awkward subject impossible to miss: supporters turned the bump into photos and memes, worldwide media covered it, and the check-up message rode the matchday buzz to a direct half-time call to act.
What you can take
Give the prevention message a shape people want to photograph: once the audience makes the joke their own, the serious instruction at the end lands on people already paying attention.
Since then
The stunt ended at half-time with men being told to screen themselves, so the joke resolved into a direct call to act. D&AD's archive keeps the work under PR as an example of a club using its own pitch as the medium for a health message.
Sources
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