As the male fundraising fest that is Movember winds up, Cancer Research UK is launching another month-long sponsored event targeting young men with the challenge of going alcohol-free for 31 days.

The ‘Dryathlon’ will run next January, and will encourage participants to ‘go dry’ for a month. The temporary tee-totallers are asked to pledge the money they save to Cancer Research UK and get their family and friends to sponsor their efforts. Participants will also be able to buy indulgences, with CRUK selling ‘golden passes’ for £15 each, which allows the abstaining fundraiser a 24 period of grace in which they may, guilt-free, consume alcohol.

CRUK’s effort is the first of its kind in the UK, but mirrors the increasingly popular ‘Dry July’ in Australia, which this year raised A$3.7m from more than 15,000 people.

But the health charity’s chief messaging will not be the health benefits of reducing alcohol consumption, instead playing on competitive will power to draw in particularly young male participants.

The campaign is hosted on its own website, which includes features which enable people to calculate the amount of money and calories the alcohol they would have consumed would have cost. The site, which encourages people to “lay off the bevvies” will also include a fundraising leader board and virtual prizes for hitting donation milestones. 

Fundraising teams will also be supported via the site. which could prove a powerful source of fundraising. The most successful fundraisers on Australia's 'Dry July' register their company name alongside their own. 

CRUK is embarking on an integrated multi-media campaign to promote the event, with a strong emphasis on digital and social media. The charity has will also be pushing Dryathlon via a partnership with Men’s Fitness magazine, press and radio ads and promotional beer mats. The charity has taken on PR agency Unity to work with an in-house team on the PR and social media campaign. Justgiving is hosting the participants' fundraising pages.