A devastating dementia campaign sees the Alzheimer’s Society reaffirm its principles
The Alzheimer’s Society has set out its manifesto to help those suffering from dementia in a devastating new brand campaign.
‘The Ultimate Vow’ sees the charity tackle head-on the progressive impact of the disease on those affected, from initial confusion to a mounting sense of helplessness.
Focused on the tale of Adam and Laura, the evocative integrated campaign strikes a personal tone as the challenges of living with dementia are documented in unwavering detail. Overlayed upon these upsetting scenes, Laura narrates her wedding vows, evoking a similar vow from the charity to stand by all those affected in sickness and in health.
It ends with actor Colin Firth lending his voice to the ad to encourage donations.
New Commercial Arts developed the work. The agency’s creative director Jules Middleton said: “My Dad was diagnosed with dementia in his 60s, just at the start of my creative career, so I have lived through the devastation it causes. My Mum told me if she had fully understood what the ‘in sickness’ of her wedding vows actually meant, she was unsure she would have committed to them.
“But luckily for me, she did, and that promise (and relationship) is what created the kernel of the idea for ‘The Ultimate Vow’. Dealing with dementia can leave you feeling hopeless and completely disempowered, but through this project, I have regained a little bit of that power back. Hopefully, through raising awareness of Alzheimer’s Society, more people will support their work and can access their services to get a little bit of power back in their lives too.”
The campaign dovetails with the reveal of a new brand identity for the Alzheimer’ Society, including a new logo that raises a modernized forget-me-not flower to prominence. A new tagline, ‘Together we are help and hope for everyone living with dementia’, also encapsulates the work of the charity.
The campaign runs across television, cinema, OOH, press, radio and social with media planning and buying by MediaLab.
The Alzheimer’s Society has won plaudits for its work to reframe public perceptions of dementia as an illness, not a symptom of old age.
Credits
Campaign: The Ultimate Vow
Brand: Alzheimer’s Society
Agency: New Commercial Arts
Alzheimer’s Society
Exec director of fundraising and marketing: Alex Hyde-Smith
Associate director, brand & marketing: Harriet Foxwell-Corden
Senior marketing manager: Victoria Evans
Marketing Executives: Laura Parsons and Ellie Jerman
New Commercial Arts
Chief creative officer: Ian Heartfield
Artistic director: Nici Hofer
Creatives: Jules Middleton & Peigh Asante
Director of production & operations: Matt Craigie-Atherton
Film producer: Lucie Georgeson
Print producer: Amanda Davies
Chief executive officer: James Murphy
Business director: Miriam Goode
Senior account director: Janki Shah
Chief strategy officer: David Golding
Planning partner: John Blight
Project director: Sylvie Edwards
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: James Rouse
Producer: Benji Howell
Exec producer: Rupert Reynolds-Maclean
DoP: Mark Wolfe
Production designer: Guy Thompson
Wardrobe stylist: Selina Wong
Editing company: Work Post
Editor: Bill Smedley
Edit assistant: Rebecca Quinn
Edit producer: Antonia Porter
Post production: Untold Studios
EP: Tomek Zietkiewicz
Producer: Simon Downie/Jordan Malonga
VFX supervisor: Ben Cronin
VFX artists: Kia Coates
Colorist: Julien Alary
Color producer: Eli Sandal
Audio post-production: Factory Studios
Sound designers: Anthony Moore / Josh Campbell
Music supervision: Sean Craigie-Atherton @ Manderley Music
Composer/Arranger: Guy Farley
Photography:
Photographer: Mary McCartney
Agent: LGA
Production: LGA
Retouching: Hand of God
Design: King Henry
Medialab
Integration director: Nick Parker
Client managing director: Owen Taylor
Business director: George Gwilliam
Senior account manager: Emma Tipping
Account manager: Amy Bevis