NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Acclaimed
Actress Amy Brenneman may play a
silenced police chief's wife in her new role on "The
Leftovers," but she generously lends her voice to help
raise awareness for Crohn's disease and ulcerative
colitis in a newly refreshed public service awareness campaign.
To view the multimedia assets associated with this release,
please click
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7204352-crohn-s-colitis-foundation-of-america-awareness-psa-amy-brenneman/
The campaign features Brenneman, who has suffered from
ulcerative colitis, and is now a proud supporter of the Crohn's
& Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). The goal of campaign is
two-fold: 1. To highlight the prevalence of these diseases and 2.
To reinforce the seriousness of these diseases. Crohn's
disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic diseases that affect
nearly 1 in 200 Americans. The physical and emotional toll
they take on patients is significant.
"I know firsthand how devastating these diseases can be,"
Amy Brenneman said. "So, when CCFA
asked me to help I was more than happy to get involved. If my
support can help even one person, I'd be happy."
Many patients suffer in silence from inflammatory bowel diseases
(IBD), and with Ms. Brenneman's support, hopefully that will
change. IBD are painful, medically incurable diseases that attack
the digestive system. Symptoms may include abdominal pain,
persistent diarrhea, bleeding, fever, severe fatigue and weight
loss. Many patients require numerous hospitalizations and surgery.
The fastest growing patient population is children under the age of
18.
"By putting this issue front and center, we want to engage
people, raise awareness, and demonstrate our commitment and
compassion to finding cures and improving the lives of our
patients," said Richard J. Geswell, President and CEO of
the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. "We know
these diseases extend far beyond the bathroom, but it's a
compelling way to get the conversation started."
For the second year in a row, CCFA enlisted the pro-bono help
of the global advertising agency, FCB Health. In
addition to the :30-second and :60-second TV spots, the campaign
consists of radio, print, out-of-home and digital assets.
The campaign utilizes the bathroom for a simple reason -- it's
easy to recognize. And empathize. The campaign is about helping
people understand how difficult it is to live with IBD, while
reminding people that have IBD that there's no reason to hide a
normal daily activity. The campaign is designed to raise awareness
to help those in need by visualizing the constant disruption of
IBD. Showing different feet under the doors of bathroom stalls is
meant to highlight the growing rate of IBD, not explain all the
symptoms. CCFA is also leveraging social media, asking patients to
share their stories online using #IBDselfie to
#HelpSomeoneYouKnow.
"We had so many great insights to work with. Evolving a campaign
that resonates and motivated people is tricky -- you want to
improve everything without touching the DNA of what made the
concept work in the first place," said Mike
Devin, Executive Vice President, Creative Director.
About CCFA
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of
America (CCFA) is the largest voluntary non-profit health
organization dedicated to finding cures for Inflammatory Bowel
Diseases (IBD). CCFA's mission is to cure Crohn's disease and
ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children
and adults who suffer from these diseases. The Foundation works to
fulfill its mission by funding research, providing educational
resources for patients and their families, medical professionals,
and the public, and furnishing supportive services for those
afflicted with IBD. For more information, visit www.ccfa.org,
call 888-694-8872, like us on Facebook, find us on LinkedIn or
follow us on Twitter.
About the FCB Health Network
With more than 30 years
of experience marketing to healthcare professionals, patients and
consumers, FCB Health produces work that is both strategically
relevant and creatively compelling. The agency provides its clients
with multichannel capabilities, including payer strategy and
marketing, professional education, scientific services, strategic
planning and media services. Its high-energy, diverse culture
and global network have enabled it to strengthen its relationships
with an extensive client roster, including J&J,
Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lilly, Novartis,
Thermo Fisher and Teva. It was
named "Agency of the Year" by Medical Advertising News in
2006 and 2009 and by Medical Marketing & Media in 2007
and 2010. For the last four years, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013
it was named Most Creative Agency by Medical Advertising
News.
FCB Health is a unit of FCB, itself a member of the Interpublic
Group (NYSE: IPG). Under its network umbrella, FCB Health has
other separate full-service, multichannel healthcare agencies,
including AREA 23 and Neon, and Hudson Global as well as units
focusing specifically on managed markets and medical
education. For more information, visit
www.fcbhealthcare.com.
To view the multimedia assets associated with this release,
please click
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7204352-crohn-s-colitis-foundation-of-america-awareness-psa-amy-brenneman
SOURCE Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA)