ALS Society of Canada begins awareness campaign
By Adnews Staff
The ALS Society of Canada released a new public service advertising campaign yesterday to raise awareness of the neuromuscular disease and the society's support for research into a cure. The campaign, called "What would you do, if you still could?" was created pro bono by BBDO Canada of Toronto. It consists of two 30-second television commercials. Sixty-second versions for theatres will be released later this year, along with print and interior transit materials. The society is offering the ads in English and French as public service announcements. The first ad, called "Hugging," depicts a man hugging a variety of people and objects: a police officer, a horse, a waitress, a tree and his wife. The ad uses the copy "Most people with ALS lose the use of their arms in the first two years of the disease. What would you do, if you still could?" The second ad, called "Running," shows a man jogging through a number of scenes. The copy in this ad reads, "Most people with ALS lose the use of their legs in the first two years of the disease." "We wanted to help people understand how ALS changes the lives of people living with the disease and those around them," said Stephanie Nerlich, senior vice-president of BBDO Canada. "That led us to think about simple tasks that we take for granted, tasks that people living with ALS are forced to consider every day."