• by Les Luchter , Today

“No need to scream when you can screen,” says a Cologuard delivery person in a :60 spot starring Matthew Lillard, famous for being one of the serial killers in the  1996 film “Scream.”

Cologuard “takes the scare out of colon cancer screening,” Lillard confirms in the Halloween-friendly spot, which starts out like a horror film before becoming reassuring.

Lillard’s background “allowed us to use a creative approach and tap into humor to flip the script on fear of screening and to show that the real fright is not getting screened,” Jeremy Truxal, vice president of screening marketing for Cologuard maker Exact Sciences, tells Marketing Daily  “He had already used Cologuard before this partnership, so the message was personal to him.”

Lillard is also no stranger to humor, having also played cowardly slacker Shaggy Rogers in the “Scooby Doo” film franchise.

But Cologuard’s own humorous character, its long-running animated box, doesn't appear in the spot, even in static form.

The new spot was created with Blue Hour Studios, with media strategy supported by Burson.

Besides the spot running on paid social media, the campaign --  which launched Sept. 22 and will continue through the end of November -- includes short-form content also with Lillard, educational posts, and resources on colon cancer screening at a dedicated landing page,  ScreenWithoutScares.com.

“Social media allows us to reach our audience where they are spending time and engage them in a more interactive way,” says Truxal.

That audience continues to include Cologuard’s specific targeting of 45- to 50-year-olds. “Colon cancer rates are rising in people under 50,” Truxal explains, “so starting screening at 45, as recommended by national screening guidelines, is important.”

He notes that “colon cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S., but it’s highly treatable when caught early and can even be prevented through screening.”

Exact Sciences says its Cologuard test, which requires a doctors’ prescription for home delivery, has been responsible for more than 20 million colon cancer screenings since its FDA approval 11 years ago.