Thoughts
Stand Up to Cancer Campaign Ad Review
By Nathan Johnson
Let’s get this out of the way up front – this month’s advertising campaign review will be a bit of a cop-out. The original plan had been to review the Stand Up to Cancer campaign, specifically, the television/movie theater spot that has been airing recently (and which is viewable by clicking the website link).
In case you’re not aware of the spot (officially a PSA), it features a variety of celebrities either already standing or rising from their seats to stand up. They don’t speak any words – they simply stand. In the latter half of the spot, the celebs are joined by everyday people who also stand up. There’s a voiceover from Sidney Poitier and a backing song, “Rise,” from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.
When I first saw the ad, I was in a movie theater, and I thought then that it was a terrible spot. I felt that a PSA presenting the notion that we, led by celebrities, can stand up to cancer like it’s some sort of schoolyard bully who will back down when challenged, was not only silly but also insulting to the many individuals who have been touched by cancer.
That was about three weeks ago.
Today, I am sitting in my office, having just returned from a memorial service for a wonderful 2-year-old boy who lost his battle with cancer last week.
Needless to say, my perspective on things has changed a little. The vitriol I normally store up for use against poorly executed or ill-conceived ad campaigns just isn’t there today.
I could spend a few paragraphs railing at organizations like Stand Up to Cancer for allowing an ad company to take their good advertising dollars and spend them developing what amounts to trivial messaging for incredibly complex and incredibly important issues, in this case, the need for more and better cancer research, but I won’t. I’ll simply say that I think they could have done a better job, and I truly hope they will in the future.
I’ll also take a moment to be thankful that there are people out there trying to do something so that, maybe someday, cancer no longer takes our loved ones and friends from us.
Beyond that, words fail me…
E-mail the author: Nathan Johnson
