Integrated creative communications and PR agency The Romans, has teamed up with Dubai’s newest contemporary ceramics studio Maison Terraē to launch Clay Jugs — a pro-bono campaign designed to help women overcome one of the largest psychological barriers to breast cancer detection – the fear of finding.
The studio, in partnership with Dr. Mariana Berratto, is teaching women how to self-check potential symptoms using the art of sculpting jugs as a proxy for real bodies.
Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women in the MENA region, accounting for approximately 25 per cent of all new cases.
Yet, despite high levels of awareness, many women rarely perform self-examinations. Studies show that while 70 per cent of breast cancers in young women are first discovered by the women themselves, fear, embarrassment and anxiety around finding something still prevent many from checking.
To confront this fear head-on, The Romans created Clay Jugs, a hands-on campaign that uses ceramics as a metaphor for self-examination. The team brought together seven inspiring women, including survivor Sara Raffaghello, for an intimate ceramics experience that transformed fear into control.
During the session, each woman crafted her own clay jug, a symbolic stand-in for the human body, deliberately adding a small lump to it, turning the idea of finding something from a source of anxiety into an act of empowerment.
“We wanted to design something that didn’t just raise awareness but changed behaviour,” said Kassandra Panagiotopoulos, Head of Strategy, The Romans. “We were able to get women feeling, massaging, touching, and sculpting for a significant period of time, helping to desensitise the act of self-checking, making it something familiar and tactile.”
The campaign brought together influencers, media, and health advocates to spark a powerful earned conversation across social and press. A short hero film — Clay Jugs: Feel Without Fear — has since been released across Maison Terraē’s channels, inviting women to join new public classes running throughout November.
“Clay has always had a connection to the human body,” said Fiona Suissa, Co-Founder, Maison Terraē. “By bringing touch, texture, and awareness together, we helped women learn to feel without fear.”
Dr. Mariana Barretto added, “Breast cancer is very real, but we don’t have to be afraid of it. With the right education, and the right environment, we can turn awareness into action.”
The campaign was conceptualised, produced, and amplified entirely pro-bono by The Romans, blending influencer, media, social, and earned storytelling into one cohesive idea.
Clay Jugs continues through November, offering the public a chance to join Maison Terraē’s ceramics-based awareness classes at their Al Quoz studio in Dubai.
CREDITS:
Pro-bono campaign title: Clay Jugs
Client: Contemporary ceramics studio Maison Terraē
Agency: The Romans
