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The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2025

Harley-Davidson tied prostate screening to its 500-mile bike check-up — and men showed up

Harley-Davidson UAE attached a free prostate exam to the bike's mandatory 500-mile check-up, reframing screening as maintenance — screenings rose 56%.

Harley-Davidson

The solution

Prostate cancer screening in the Middle East carries stigma, and Harley-Davidson's core riders are mostly men over 50 — exactly the group that skips check-ups. Men avoided the exam out of fear and outdated ideas about invasive tests.

FP7 McCann inserted a free prostate exam offer into the owner's manual and service plan: with every mandatory 500-mile bike check-up, riders could book a complimentary PSA blood test at Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib clinics, valid for two years under the warranty. Servicing the bike and checking your health became one ritual.

Screenings rose 56% and service appointments 78%; the campaign earned 40M+ impressions and about $1M in earned media with 100% positive sentiment. It took two Golds at the 2025 MENA Effie Awards.

Why it worked

  • It rode an existing, already-accepted appointment — bike service — instead of asking men to make a brand-new medical appointment.
  • Reframing the exam as maintenance made it feel responsible and manly rather than invasive and shameful.
  • The warranty clause gave the offer official, recurring presence in every owner's manual and service visit.
What it achievedAttach a health check to an existing bike ritualclever

What can be applied

Don't try to change the audience's mind head-on; attach the new behavior to a ritual they already accept. The bike service gave the exam a masculine, responsible frame that no health message could.

Aftermath

The two-year programme stayed inside the UAE service warranty, pairing every 500-mile check-up with a screening invitation; Enigmas Motorcycle Club backed it with awareness rides of 180+ riders. Harley-Davidson kept the health check as part of its regional service story.

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