Burples are small, purple and burgundy creatures that live in dark spaces and have to wear sunglasses all the time because they don't like sunlight.
Just like people who live with migraine, most of whom are also not fans of bright light, each Burple is unique, but most of them are pretty shy and you have to get to know them before they reveal their true personalities.
The Burples, understandably, thought Burple Day was about them! But when we explained that the day was about asking people to wear burgundy or purple in support of the five million people that live with migraine, they agreed to help us raise awareness of migraine during Migraine Awareness Month and celebrate Burple Day - which is the first Friday in June - with us, because they live with migraine too.
2025 Burple Day
Burple Day is back for its second year—and it’s bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever! Join us on Friday June 6, 2025, as we kick off Migraine Awareness Month with a splash of burgundy and purple to show support for the more than 5 million Australians living with migraine.
Launched in 2024 by Migraine Australia, Burple Day was created as a uniquely Australian response to the global “Wear It Purple” migraine day. While many countries wear purple on June 1 to start the month of awareness, Australia already celebrates Wear It Purple later in the year to support LGBTIQ+ youth. To avoid confusion—and spark something fun and fresh—we combined burgundy (our signature migraine awareness colour) and purple to create Burple Day.
What started as a clever colour combo has quickly become a nationwide movement to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that migraine is “just a headache.”
Meet The Burples
Our lovable Burple characters—Bennie, Bindi, and Billie—now joined by Betty are back this year to help spread migraine facts and fight misinformation. They’re particularly passionate about reminding everyone that:
- There's no “s” in “migraine”
- Migraine is not just a headache
- Awareness can be powerful and playful
Expect to see The Burples popping up on social media and community spaces all across the country!
How to Get Involved
On Burple Day (Friday, June 6), Australians are encouraged to:
- Wear burgundy and purple—or go full Burple!
- Share a selfie or group photo online with the hashtag #BurpleDay
- Start a conversation about what migraine really is
- Download migraine resources and support materials from the Migraine Australia resources page.
With iconic landmarks lighting up in Burple and more people joining the movement each year, Burple Day is quickly becoming a meaningful and memorable part of Migraine Awareness Month.
Let’s paint the country Burple and give migraine the attention it deserves!
Bindi the Burple
Bindi was the first Burple to make contact with humans. She is always the star of the show so of course she thought Burple Day was about her, and got in touch with Migraine Australia because she wanted to make sure her makeup and lighting was just perfect on the day.
Bindi is considered by her friends to be a real princess who loves nothing more than getting her nails done and always looking her very best. She is the Burple who wears the prettiest sunglasses and will often have her nails done in burgundy and purple shades, and is a big believer in the need pamper yourself.
"It's all about balance. If migraine makes me feel bad, then I do something nice for myself so I feel good."
By her own admission, she is a Burple who likes and enjoys the finer things in life but often can’t enjoy them as much as she likes, especially when she has a migraine attack.
Bennie the Burple
Bennie is a rock star burple who has spiky hair and loves a party. No way he was missing out on Burple Day.
He can be a bit bossy, and likes to get things right. But he cares deeply both about other Burples and the people he has met with migraine, so believes it's important to get accurate and up-to-date information about migraine out there.
"Gotta get the message in the music, like migraine is in our genes."
Bennie loves wearing his sunglasses because "they make me feel and look really cool" but hates that he has to wear them all the time because sunlight triggers migraine attacks for him.
"I love being outside on sunny days, but sunlight really hurts my head and my eyes, so I wear my sunglasses, which really does help."
Bennie is madly in love with Bindi, and writes songs for her all the time, but Bindi says they're just friends.
Billie the Burple
Billie stands out from the other Burples due to the fact that they wear white sunglasses frames instead of the purple favoured by Bennie and Bindi. They like being different, and don't like having labels.
Billie loves to stand out from the crowd, but first needs to find a crowd to stand out from, so is never far away from their friends Bindi and Bennie.
“I’m proud to be a Burple but who wants to be the same as every other Burple? Not me!"
Billie is really passionate about the rarer forms of migraine, like vestibular migraine which affects people's balance, abdominal migraine which upsets the tummy, or hemiplegic migraine that causes stroke like symptoms.
"But, whether you have a funky type of migraine, or the regular headache type, remember - migraine doesn't define you. You be you."
Betty the Burple
We noticed a mysterious fourth set of footprints in the kitchen recently, so we left out some salt and vinegar chips in the pantry and set up a hidden camera…
The crunching sounds woke us at midnight, and that’s how we met Betty – our newest and youngest Burple!
Betty isn’t much of a party animal (that’s more Bennie’s vibe). She says loud noises and crowds make her head throb, but give her a quiet couch, her favourite blanket, and a Burple buddy or two, and she’s in heaven. Betty is a firm believer that binge-watching reality TV is a valid form of self-care.
She’s definitely got a taste for the salty and deep-fried – which explains her perfectly "rounded" figure – and thinks fur care should be optional, particularly when she has a migraine attack.
“Trying to keep my gorgeous fur moisturised, as well as living up to family expectations is exhausting – ain’t nobody got time for that!”
Betty may be a little shy at first, but once she warms up, she’s full of sharp one-liners, big hearted hugs, and surprisingly deep chats. Like all Burples, she lives with migraine too – and she gets how draining it can be just trying to function when your head is pounding and everything’s too loud, too bright, or just too much.
She’s here for low-key hangouts, self-acceptance, and salty snacks – and she's all in for raising awareness this Burple Day.
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These four are the only Burples we have met so far but they say there is more of them. Millions of them.
Support Burple Day on the first Friday in June by wearing burgundy and purple to raise awareness of migraine.