This spec spot poignantly presents a man both before and after he was stricken by Alzheimer’s Disease. The PSA opens with the man, full of life, joking, "I was playing golf the other day and I hit my two best balls. I stepped on a rake."
This is juxtaposed with the same man, now lifeless, detached and humorless, seated in an empty room. A voiceover explains that some 400,000 people will be diagnosed this year as having Alzheimer’s.
The camera then returns us to better days, as the guy jokes that golfers always carry two pairs of pants in case they get "a hole in one."
Sadly, we are then taken again to the present to see the same man, stricken by Alzheimer’s. This time, we get a close-up shot of him. He shows no sign of recognizing his surroundings or being able to relate to people. A voiceover intervenes, "There’s no cure, but with your help, we’re working on it."
Finally, we’re back to the jokester of yesteryear. "What do you do when you’re playing golf in a lightning storm?" he asks. We hear the punch line against the scene of the now withdrawn man ravaged by Alzheimer’s. "You carry a one-iron over your head. Even God can’t hit a one-iron."
A concluding voiceover relates, "Alzheimer’s: When the laughter stops."
The end tag contains an Alzheimer’s Association logo, accompanied by a toll-free phone number and a Web site address (alz.org).
Tom Donald of Tom Donald Films, San Francisco, wrote and directed the PSA, which was produced by George Young. Donald hopes to gain sponsorship and airtime for the spec piece, which was shot by DP Barry Stone. The production designer was Andrew Lewis.
Editor was Jon Francis of Rough House Editorial, San Francisco. Colorist was Chris Martin of Retina, San Francisco. Audio mixer/sound designer was Steve Shapiro of Steve Shapiro Music, San Francisco.
