Movember

A group of men displaying moustaches for Movember.

Movember (a portmanteau of the Australian-English diminutive word for moustache, "mo",[1] and "November") is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as depression in men, prostate cancer and other male cancers, and associated charities. The Movember Foundation runs the Movember charity event, housed at Movember.com.[2] The goal of Movember is to "change the face of men's health."[3]

By encouraging men (whom the charity refers to as "Mo Bros") to get involved, Movember aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments, and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths. Besides annual check-ups, the Movember Foundation encourages men to be aware of family history of cancer and to adopt a healthier lifestyle.[4]

Since 2004, the Movember Foundation charity has run Movember events to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression, in Australia and New Zealand. In 2007, events were launched in Ireland, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel, South Africa, Taiwan and the United States.[5][6][7][8] As of 2011, Canadians were the largest contributors to the Movember charities of any nation.[9][10] In 2010, Movember merged with the testicular cancer event Tacheback.[11]

In 2012, the Global Journal listed Movember as one of the world's top 100 NGOs (non-government organization).[12]

History

Origins

Seven Nightly News aired a story in 1999 including a group of young men in Adelaide, South Australia who coined the term "Movember" and the idea of growing moustaches for charity throughout the month of November.[13] In the news report, members of the Adelaide-based "Movember Committee" explained how they came up with the idea for Movember one night in the pub. The group started with 80 men from Adelaide and soon became a nation wide phenomenon. They also aimed to raise money for the RSPCA through selling T-shirts in what they termed "Growing whiskers for whiskers".[13]

In 2004, an unrelated group in Melbourne, Victoria organised an event where 30 men would grow a moustache for 30 days in order to raise awareness for prostate cancer and depression in men.[14][15] This group would later become the Movember Foundation charity.

The Movember Foundation has since raised $174-million worldwide,[16] after spreading to South Africa and Europe, reaching North America in 2006.[7][8] In 2010, participants in the United States alone raised over $7.5 million.[17] In 2012, 1.1 million people signed up to participate, raising upwards of $95 million.[18]

The Moscars

Public hospital in Brazil with an inflatable moustache in November 2013

The charity launched The Moscars in 2010, an online global user-submitted video contest that helps Movember participants showcase their involvement in the movement.[19] Submissions cannot be longer than 4 minutes each, and prizes can be won in several categories.

In 2012, head judge Stan Lee awarded the Moscar to South Africa's comedy duo Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues for their video, "The Movember Song", a parody of Carly Rae Jepsen's hit "Call Me Maybe".[20]

International Man of Movember

The International Man of Movember is chosen from 21 national winners all over the world to wear the crown and be the face of Movember for a whole year. Each national Man of Movember winner is voted in at that particular country's main Gala Parté, held at the end of November, by both judges and fans.

The very first champion was Mark Knight from London in 2010. South Africa's Anton Taylor won the title in 2011, and in 2012 it was Chris Thwaites from New Zealand who won the coveted sash. 2013 saw Sweden's Tom Rickard crowned.

Controversies

In November 2007, at Scots College in Wellington, New Zealand, several graduating students were banned from end-of-year prizes for growing moustaches and the college threatened to ban a senior student from their NCEA examinations (official secondary school qualification) for growing a moustache during November.[21]

In 2007, the Movember Foundation events were featured on Australian tabloid current affairs program Today Tonight, which accused the foundation of spending a disproportionate amount on running costs and high salaries for its directors.[22] The financial summary of the Australian 2008 Movember campaign listed campaign costs (administration and fundraising) as being 8% of the total amount raised.[23][24] In 2007, campaign costs were listed as 9% of total amount raised.[25]

Partners

Members of the Australia national rugby union team sporting moustaches at the unveiling of a promotionally decorated Boeing 737-800 aircraft, during Movember in 2011

In 2011, Google Chrome partnered with Movember to create a video. The video featured real participants, and how they utilize the web and Movember.com to raise awareness and funds for the cause. The video generated well over 1.1 million views. It featured the Handsome Furs song "Repatriated." [26]

In 2010 and 2011, Movember partnered with TOMS to create limited edition Movember shoes for those participating.[27]

In 2011, Qantas supported Movember by painting a moustache and "Movember.com" on one of its airplanes.[28]

In 2011, the world's largest sandcastle Mo was built on Bondi Beach, in Sydney, New South Wales.[29]

A 2012 Movember video featuring Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman was one of the top 10 most watched charity videos of the year, with 1.9 million views.[30] Offerman made additional sketches for Movember 2013.

Since 2012, Royal Mail has supported the Movember campaign and created a special postmark featuring a moustache.[31]

In November 2013, the UK National Trust authorised the temporary placement of a huge grass moustache to the Cerne Abbas Giant, the UK's largest chalk hill figure. The moustache added to the 55-metre (180 ft) giant.[32] was 12 metres (39 ft) wide and 3 metres (10 ft) deep according to the designer[33] but both the National Trust and the BBC reported it as being 36 by 9 feet (11.0 by 2.7 m),[34][35]

Ambassadors

Many high-profile athletes, celebrities, and dignitaries have supported the Movember Foundation, including Australian World Champion surfer Mick Fanning;[36] author, columnist, and presenter Samantha Brett;[37] Today sports presenter Cameron Williams; ex-Big Brother housemate Ryan Fitzgerald; Queensland cricket all-rounder Andrew Symonds; and several AFL players.[38] NHL "tough guy" George Parros, alongside Bill McCreary, shaved his moustache to participate in the 2010 Movember event.[39]

In 2009, many of the Australian rugby union team players were seen sporting moustaches during the Autumn Test Series. 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button started his support for Movember by showing off his blond moustache at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Indian cricketersRavindra Jadeja and Shikhar Dhawan support this cause too.

In 2010, some of the Montreal Canadiens were seen sporting moustaches during the month of November, with a video appearing on the Canadiens homepage, thus confirming the worldwide spread of Movember.[40]

2011 Movember Ambassadors included Foster the People,[41] Morgan Spurlock,[42] George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks,[43] Snoop Dogg,[44] Kevin Connolly,[45][46] Brody Jenner,[47] Matt Leinart,[48] Bloomberg TV's Matt Miller,[49] Mr. Clean,[50] UFC Lightweight Champ Frankie Edgar,[51] and Philip Bloom.[52]

South Africa's ambassador for Movember is rapper Jack Parow.

Movember is regularly supported by sporting organisations and celebrities in New Zealand, with names such as national rugby captain Richie McCaw[53] actively involved in supporting the charity.

Charities

Since 2004, the Movember Foundation charity has used Movember to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues in Australia and New Zealand. Monetary proceeds go toward the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, the Cancer Society and Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, and Beyond Blue.[54]

In 2007, the Foundation launched campaigns in Canada (funds raised go to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada), Spain (FEFOC), the United Kingdom (Prostate Cancer UK), and the United States (the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Livestrong Foundation).[54] In the US, Movember's men's health partners are The Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.[55][56]

In 2008, the Movember Foundation started the event in the Republic of Ireland. The beneficiary in that country is Action Prostate Cancer, an initiative of the Irish Cancer Society.[57]

A non-foundation Movember event has been held in the Cayman Islands by a "MOvember Committee" since 2006. The event has been sponsored by CML Offshore Recruitment and raises funds for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society.[58]

Video games

Players in Football Manager 2015 grow moustaches during the month of November.[59]

FIFA 14 Ultimate Team features a Movember Cup.[60]

Sony released a moustache sticker intended to be placed on the front of the DualShock 4 controller in support of Movember.[61]

In November 2012, four Movember themed games were released as Google Chrome web apps.[62]

Similar events

Since the Vietnam War era, U.S. Air Force members have participated in Mustache March, where Airmen grow moustaches in good-natured defiance of facial hair regulations during the month of March.

Many men and women participate in a similar international event called No-Shave November, a web-based, non-profit organization that "encourages people to donate what they would otherwise spend on hair grooming to the American Cancer Society".[63][64] The campaign started in late of 2009, with around 50 official participants, mainly family and friends.[65] The campaign grew over the following years, and claims to have raised more than a million dollars in 2014.[66]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Garone, Adam (November 2011). "Healthier men, one moustache at a time" (Video with transcript). TED.com. TED Conferences, LLC. Retrieved 2 November 2014. So in Australia, 'mo' is slang for mustache, so we renamed the month of November 'Movember'.
  2. ↑ "Movember United States - About Movember". Us.movember.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  3. ↑ Stewart, Chato B. (2010-11-17). "Change the FACE of Men’s Health by Growing a mustache for Dick Cancer and Depression | Mental Health Humor". Blogs.psychcentral.com. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  4. ↑ "Mustaches Raise Millions for Men's Health". Myfoxdc.com. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  5. ↑ "Movember United States - Mo Money". Us.movember.com. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  6. ↑ Doll, Jen (2011-11-01). "Movember: Shave Off Your Moustache (and Grow It Back) for Men's Health, Amusement - New York News - Runnin' Scared". Blogs.villagevoice.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "'Movember' gets hairy, for a cause". CNN.com. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "AM980 News Talk Sports From Scary To Hairy, Halloween Is Over But Movember Is Just Starting Local News". Am980.ca. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  9. ↑ "Canadian website". Ca.movember.com. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  10. ↑ Morreale, Michael (2011-11-09). "Example of support:Top five classical composer moustaches". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  11. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Tacheback. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  12. ↑ "Top 100 NGOs". The Global Journal. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Ashcroft, J. (30 November 1999) Seven Nightly News Movember Mo-Phenomenon |http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPH0qQFqs0M|'', Channel 7 Adelaide
  14. ↑ Goldberg, Eleanor (2011-11-04). "'Movember' Urges Men To Grow Facial Hair, Fundraise For Prostate Cancer Awareness (SLIDESHOW)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  15. ↑ "Movember Australia". http://www.movember.com.au. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  16. ↑ Flandez, Raymund (2011-11-13). "Charity Tries New Messages and Logos Every Year - Marketing and Communications - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas". Philanthropy.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  17. ↑ "A Social Media Look Into the Madness of ‘Movember’". SmallWerks. 2011-11-04. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  18. ↑ Kwoh, Leslie (2012-11-30). "Movember- Moustache-Growing Event Draws CEOs and Company Leaders - At Work - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  19. ↑ "Movember Launches 'The Moscars' Video Contest". PRLog. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  20. ↑ "The Moscars 2012". Movember. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  21. ↑ Nichols, Lane (16 November 2007). "No mo or no show at exams". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  22. ↑ Seymour, B. (26 October 2007 [Eastern Seaboard]; 20 November 2007 [Adelaide]) Today Tonight, Channel 7 Adelaide
  23. ↑ "Financial Summary 2008". Au.movemberfoundation.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  24. ↑ "Givewell Charity Profiles - Movember Foundation". Givewell.com.au. 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  25. ↑ "More information Givewell Charity Profiles - Movember Foundation". Givewell.com.au. 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  26. ↑ Julia Kilgore (2011-11-18). "Movember: If You Don’t Know, Google It :: AdVirtues: virtuous advertising is not an oxymoron…and we can prove it!". AdVirtues. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  27. ↑ "Movember - Limited Edition - Help Change the Face of Men's Health". TOMS.com. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  28. ↑ "Movember: Qantas Celebrates by Growing a ‘Mo’". Ibtimes.com. 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  29. ↑ "Bondi Beach Lifeguards And Amanda Hinchcliffe Help Build Giant Mo Sandcastle!". Media Man International (mediamanint.com). 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  30. ↑ "The Most Viral Video Charity Campaigns of 2012". Corp.visiblemeasures.com. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  31. ↑ "Royal Mail's Movember campaign". Royalmailgroup.com. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  32. ↑ "Cerne Abbas Giant". Cool Places Ltd. 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  33. ↑ "Cerne Giant Watch our Cerne Giant Movember video". National Trust. National Trust. 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2015. |Note: The measurements are taken from the video clip, entitled, Watch our Cerne Giant Movember video Starting at 39 seconds into the video, Richard Brown, from British Seed Houses, says, "The moustache is 12 metres long by three metres deep and it took five of us four and a half hours to construct it on the day."
  34. ↑ "Giant support for Movember is a sight to behold". National Trust. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  35. ↑ "Cerne Abbas Giant sports moustache for Movember". BBC News (BBC). 1 November 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  36. ↑ "World's Best...Growing Moustaches". World Professional Surfers. 14 November 2007.
  37. ↑ "Movember wrap-up!". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 November 2007.
  38. ↑ "Movember millions". Herald Sun. 30 November 2006.
  39. ↑ Ducks right wing George Parros, who has gained notoriety for his signature moustache during his tenure in the NHL, is leading the charge during the 30-day moustache-growing movement in November. Parros will “start from scratch” by shaving and re-growing his moustache.
  40. ↑ "Things Are Getting Hairy". NHL Canadiens. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  41. ↑ "Foster the People participate in MoVember". Lightning 100. 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  42. ↑ "Morgan Spurlock Joins Movember Campaign to Raise Awareness for Cancers Affecting Men - NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/". New York: Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  43. ↑ Waxman, Matthew (2011-11-17). "Interview with the Anaheim Ducks' George Parros: Profiles". GQ. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  44. ↑ "Snoop Dogg's Official Movember T-shirt". Store.lancasterltd.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  45. ↑ "Mustache Photos - Kevin Connolly’s Movember Stache - 1". Celebuzz. 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  46. ↑ Johnson, Zach. "Kevin Connolly Grows a Mustache for Prostate Cancer Awareness". UsMagazine.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  47. ↑ "Movember Update: DCI’s Kevin McLaughlin Overtakes MTV’s Brody Jenner". FamousDC. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  48. ↑ "Houston Texans – Blog | Leinart, teammates support Movember «". Blog.houstontexans.com. 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  49. ↑ "‘Movember’: The Mustache Growing Movement". Bloomberg. 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  50. ↑ November 2, 2011 by Todd Wasserman 27 (2011-11-02). "Mr. Clean to Grow a 'Stache for Movember". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  51. ↑ sarah (2011-11-18). "UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has agreed to give up his babyface to grow a moustache...". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  52. ↑ "Movember 2011 is upon us. Let those beautiful Moustaches grow and let’s beat prostate cancer!". Philip Bloom. 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  53. ↑ "Richie McCaw supports Movember". Lifestyle.msn.co.nz. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 "Movember Australia - Movember Foundation". Movember Foundation. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  55. ↑ "Movember - Prostate Cancer Foundation". PCF. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  56. ↑ "'Movember' Urges Men To Grow Facial Hair, Fundraise For Prostate Cancer Awareness (SLIDESHOW)". The Huffington Post. 2011-11-04. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  57. ↑ "Fund Raising Outcomes". Movember Ireland. Movember Foundation. 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  58. ↑ "MOvember News". Movember.ky. Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  59. ↑ "Football Manager 15 is so realistic players will grow moustaches for Movember". metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
  60. ↑ "FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Supports Movember". easports.com. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
  61. ↑ "PlayStation joins the Movember men's health charity movement". ign.com. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
  62. ↑ "Movember collaborates with Google Chrome on 'Movember Games'". marketingmag.com.au. 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
  63. ↑ "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Movember and No-Shave November". http://abcnews.go.com/. 2014-11-03. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  64. ↑ "No-Shave November Our Story". http://no-shave.org. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  65. ↑ "This Family Started A 'No Shave November' Tradition To Honor Their Father, And Has Raised More Than $100,000". http://businessinsider.com. 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  66. ↑ "American Cancer Society No-Shave Leaderboard". http://main.acsevents.org/. Retrieved 2014-11-09.

External links