How Specsavers turned the Rick Roll into a hearing PSA

The 'Rick Roll' sure packed a punch in its day.

I mean, it is, by far, the most popular example of bait-and-switch linking.

Rick Astley himself said that the meme phenomenon helped him reconnect with his hit song: Never Gonna Give You Up, after not singing it for 15 years. It even led him to release a whole new album in 2023.

This same year, eyeglasses brand Specsavers pulled off a literal marketing coup with 'The Misheard Version.'

The campaign tapped directly into the internet’s love for nostalgia and humour while sneakily delivering a serious health message.

All centred around this very song.

The Challenge.

‘Mishearing’ things is how the world talks about and understands hearing loss. It often comes with a healthy dose of humour, connecting people through shared experience.

We’ve all had a slightly embarrassing misheard moment. And it always warrants a laugh – whether that’s with you or at your expense.

The stigma around hearing loss means that nearly 30% of people go 10 years or more without getting a hearing test. This leads to late diagnosis, reduced quality of life, and feelings of isolation.

In this campaign, Specsavers uses nostalgia and humour to nudge the public to get their hearing tested.

'The Misheard Version' also brings awareness to the fact that the brand is not just an eyesight provider. Specsavers also provides audiology services, which many people don't know. A two challenge, one stone kind of approach.

The Execution.

In the Autumn of 2023, Specsavers and creative agency Golin partnered with Rick Astley to re-record the iconic 'Never Gonna Give You Up' with lyrics the public have been mishearing for years.

These included, ‘Then I’m going to run around with dessert spoons’, ‘You wouldn’t catch nits from any other guy’ and ‘your aunt’s been naked,’ among many others collected from internet discussion forums.

They then ‘Rick-Rolled’ the public. The brand released The Misheard Version across social media and radio, with no explanation at all, hoping to test the ears of the UK population. As part of the launch, Rick posted a video of him singing the misheard version in the studio on TikTok.

Rick's organic 'tease' post reached 20M views in just 8 hours, and conversation circled around the song. It was then that Specsavers revealed their campaign, with Rick also announcing his own journey with hearing loss eventuating in him getting hearing aids.

Following this effort, Specsavers released another radio ad.

For 45 seconds of the song, listeners singing along (who haven’t yet engaged with the campaign) would question their ears.

Then, actor Rob Brydon interjected, asking, 'Did that sound right to you? If it did, you might want to book a free hearing test at Specsavers today… mishearing lyrics can be an early sign of hearing loss.'

The Results.

The campaign won an array of awards, including 2 Grand Prix Cannes Lions, 1 Gold Cannes Lions and 3 Silver, and a gold in the Disruptive or Innovative Idea or Stunt category for Social Media at The Drum Awards.

It also resulted in a 1220% above target increase in Specsavers hearing test bookings.

The Reason.

Why did it do so well? Because it’s bloody clever, that’s why.

Specsavers brilliantly paired nostalgia with a health PSA. The brand invited people to reflect on their own hearing while tapping into the cultural moment of the Rick Roll phenomenon.

In other words, they turned one of the most beloved memes into the world’s first 'mass hearing test.' (And of course, the internet ate it up.)

The genius here was that the wrong lyrics didn’t feel like a gimmick; they were an experiential lesson in hearing loss.

It’s one thing to say hearing loss can distort conversations—it’s another to let people experience it for themselves through music.

That tactile element made the campaign more than just clever advertising; it was marketing that gave people a reason to listen—and share.

Health campaigns can easily drift into either preachy or sombre territory. But Specsavers managed to dodge both with humour and cultural relevance.

By inviting people to laugh at themselves for mishearing the lyrics, the campaign created a shared experience, getting people to open up about hearing loss without the shame and stigma.

What Specsavers nailed here was relevance—the kind you can’t fake.

They connected to something universal (our collective love for rick rolling) and transformed it into something educational and wildly shareable.

-Sophie, Writer