Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States killing more Americans than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Every 65 seconds someone is diagnosed with the disease. Despite how prevalent the disease is, people have a hard time talking about it. The signs are unclear, and people are unsure if they have it and no one wants to confront or discuss it. We had to change this behavior. For people who talk about it, tend to live longer, happier lives. The primary goal of the campaign was to encourage conversation and deliver an understanding of how to start one, with a loved one, through an innovative web experience and other campaign touchpoints, including TV, radio, print, ooh, and digital banners.

The creative idea was first and foremost to avoid the bleak heaviness and gloom generally associated with Alzheimer’s communications. Instead, we chose to present and communicate through love stories. Stories of how people living with the disease and their loved ones first noticed the signs and had a conversation about it. Through these supportive, loving stories we tried to demystify the disease and show how it can lead to a natural conversation.

Qualitative research with care partners, at-risk individuals, current patients, and professionals led to our key insights. We learned that it usually takes months of patients suffering in silence and loved ones noticing things are off before anyone speaks up. Not only is broaching the subject extremely difficult, but concerns are also brushed off as “you’re just getting old,” so patients develop shame and coping strategies to hide their symptoms. And while these conversations are dreaded, most interviewees felt there were many benefits to a diagnosis. Having a label for what they were going through and being able to plan ahead was empowering and validating. But most importantly, we heard that a diagnosis wasn’t the end. They still had many moments of joy in their lives. These findings led to the realization that we had to remove not only the stigma of the disease, but also the stigma of the conversation.

The campaign centerpiece is a dynamic web experience that uses a unique user journey through z-space navigation. All narrative imagery within the experience was developed in collaboration by French, and Oscar-nominated Illustrator, Bastien Dubois, and Argentine Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla. Bastien drew every frame by hand based on real stories we curated from people living with the disease. We needed a delicate hand to best show the symptoms our characters were experiencing and landed on a style that felt beautifully unfinished yet emotional and imaginative.

We meticulously trimmed and cropped various layers of the design in Cinema 4D to add depth to the visual storytelling. This technique helped to create a dynamic visual environment, while still supporting a constant balance of art and information.

In addition to the web experience, we produced TV, radio, print, ooh, and digital banners—all using the illustrated assets from real stories.

The site just launched but early feedback has been incredibly positive, and the Alzheimer organization is anticipating over 100,000 visitors a month. More results to come.