The Alzheimer Society of BC has released a television spot to coincide with Brain Awareness Week.
The public service announcement called “Brain Scan” is an entirely pro bono collaboration between Rethink Communications, Untitled Films, Hatch Studios, Rooster Post Production and Wave Productions.
The society says one in four Canadians has a family member with Alzheimer’s and every five minutes a Canadian is diagnosed with dementia. But despite this, it says, awareness about the disease is very low.
The television spot tells an emotional story about memory loss told through medical imagery.
“The video illustrates what dementia is – a degenerative brain disease – and what it does to our cherished memories,” said Jean Blake, CEO of Alzheimer Society of BC, in a news release.
Rethink partner Ian Grais said because his own mother and Rethink staffer Glen Chalcraft’s father both suffer from the disease, it was something that the agency really wanted to support.
The creative team of Leia Rogers and Bob Simpson conceived of the idea of using the media scan to illustrate a story, “and we just recognized the power of the imagery right away,” said Grais. “Ultimately, it’s about getting people interested in donating to the search of a cure.”
The PSA is just airing in B.C., but Grais said there is interest from other Alzheimer’s chapters across the country.
