GS&P teams up with bike charity to ‘Outride ADHD’
High performance bicycle brand Specialized and San Francisco agency GS&P have unveiled an initiative that aims to educate parents, teachers and doctors about the benefits that cycling can provide to children with ADHD.
Called ‘Outride ADHD,’ the effort is for the California-based company’s charitable arm, The Specialized Foundation, which works with schools throughout the country to incorporate cycling into the school day. According to the Specialized Foundation, cycling can “help improve focus and clarity for kids with ADHD.”
In a two-minute film created by GS&P, scenes play out that show what it’s like to live day-to-day with ADHD. According to the agency, the kids featured in the spot suffer from ADHD in real life and were cast at bike shops and skate parks with the help of Mexico-based production company Tonic Films.
Later in the film, the kids are shown riding their bicycles at night while animations of running wild animals are projected onto their surroundings. Aside from the spot, GS&P also created the technology that allows the cyclists to control the speed of the animals — the faster they pedal, the faster the animals will run.
Directed by British director Johnny Green, the aim of the film is to illustrate that exercise – particularly biking – can help those with ADHD free their minds. According to the American Psychiatric Association, 5% of children have ADHD.
“This is a powerful film for a very important cause, and we wanted everything about it to be honest – real riders with ADHD and real words about it,” said Roger Baran, creative director at GS&P, in a statement.
“I learned so much about my own ADHD through the process of crafting this film. During development and shooting, I felt the same freedom as the kids on bikes did," added Green.
The 'Outride ADHD' campaign, which launched today on stage 18 of the Tour de France, will run throughout the summer.
