Ad Campaign Wins Telly Award

SPRINGFIELD — The Telly Awards has named the Melanoma Foundation of New England (MFNE) a two-time Bronze winner in the 35th annual Telly Awards for its piece titled “The Annoying Mole.”

The MFNE launched the public-awareness campaign in May 2014, Melanoma Awareness Month. Produced locally, it features an unsightly and “annoying” mole that is trying to get someone’s attention. The campaign’s simple message: “don’t ignore your moles; get them checked.”

The project was a collaboration involving numerous parties. Meghan Rothschild, a melanoma survivor and staff member with the MFNE, and owner of the Northampton-based marketing firm chikmedia, crafted the concept, developed the script and storyboard, and oversaw the project. David Long, owner of Epic Filmmakers of Amherst and West Hartford, Conn., produced, filmed, and edited the spot. Alfonso Santaniello, president of the Creative Strategy Agency in Springfield, had his acting debut as the Annoying Mole in all three formats: radio, print, and TV.

MFNE is the largest nonprofit in the region dedicated to melanoma awareness and prevention, offering many free education programs through the year targeted to the prevention of skin cancer in children, teens, and adults. The “Annoying Mole” campaign hopes to reach all segments of the population with the message that melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer but is nearly 100{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} curable if caught early.

“This is a great honor, and we’re very excited,” said Deb Girard, MFNE’s executive director. “We’re happy our work in this field is being recognized.”

The Telly Awards were founded in 1979 and honor outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video, and films.  A judging panel of more than 500 industry professionals judged the competition.