The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, a nonprofit providing care to those living with paralysis and advancing research into treatments and cures for spinal cord injury, has unveiled “Reverse,” a PSA from BBDO New York designed to spread awareness and bolster support of research to find cures for spinal cord injury.
Directed and shot by Greg Ramsey via Curious Pictures (Ramsey has since joined Nola Pictures), “Reverse” shows falling dominoes in the form of a person, representing the devastating physical, emotional and societal effects of a spinal cord injury on Rob Summers, a former college baseball pitcher who was paralyzed from the chest down in 2006 after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run accident.
However, as a result of his participation in a landmark scientific study of a novel experimental therapy, Summers is today able to stand up and step with assistance on a treadmill and move his legs voluntarily. The PSA thus reflects this turnaround by showing fallen dominoes rising again, producing a domino effect in reverse.
The experimental therapy combines continual direct epidural stimulation of the lower spinal cord with intense locomotor training (assisted stepping on a treadmill). Summers were the first-ever human participant in this groundbreaking research (funded by the National Institute of Health and the Reeve Foundation), which was published in the medical journal The Lancet in May 2011.
John Osborn, president of BBDO New York and chair of the Reeve Foundation’s Communications Committee, stated, “Rob’s story is extraordinarily compelling. His bigger-than-life personality and drive are an inspiration that we felt compelled to share. We want to invite the world to learn more and to feel what we feel — that this is a huge breakthrough and proof positive of progress being made in this field.”
Plans for a full-scale campaign, featuring print advertising, are also being explored by BBDO and the Reeve Foundation. In addition to BBDO, other organizations which have donated their time and efforts to this campaign include production partners Curious Pictures, @radical media (which provided pro bono green screen and crew), The Station, Trivers Myers Music, and media agency OMD.
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More