Alzheimer's Association: advert-body-1 by The Community & The Ad Council

Through a collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association comes ‘Our Stories’: the debut pro bono campaign developed by The Community that launched on 3 June, which features firsthand accounts of real Alzheimer’s patients. The personalization of the disease is meant to spur a dialogue between families who detect early onset signs of it in their loved ones.

“When we took this campaign on, we were all inspired by the need for public education around the benefits of an early diagnosis for Alzheimer’s,” said Heidi Arthur, chief campaign development officer of the Ad Council. “Every 65 seconds someone in the US develops the disease and it’s the sixth leading cause of death. While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, the positive impact of an early diagnosis on the person with the disease and their loved ones can be life-changing.”

However, while a survey conducted by the Alzheimer’s Association showed that nine out of 10 Americans would want to be confronted about exhibiting symptoms of cognitive decline, three out of four confessed the difficulty in talking to family members about the topic. With this data, the organization seeks to diminish surrounding stigmas and make the process more comfortable for everyone by not only implementing tools and resources on its website, but by showing people that they are not alone.

The campaign, which features the stories of five diagnosed people and their care partners, also has hand-drawn illustrations from Bastien DuBois and original compositions by Gustavo Santaolalla. The weaving together of multimedia is meant to make the experience as immersive and interactive as possible, so that the discussions around steps to potential treatment can happen as quickly as possible.