Cerebral Palsy Appeal Aims to Teach Adland an Important Lesson

It's time to cast preconceptions aside—and that goes double for comms pros seeking to raise awareness

Memo to comms professionals: Cerebral palsy isn’t one size fits all. The CP community requests that you keep that in mind as you craft awareness campaigns.

Though the neurological disorder can severely limit range of movement, some people with the condition play sports and engage in rigorous exercise every day. Yes, CP can impede speech, but many of those with the condition articulate clearly and can even talk a blue streak.

To drive such points home, real people with cerebral palsy appear in the clip below, interviewed by a faux agency team tasked with making a PSA. One subject dribbles a soccer ball, another demonstrates a pilates routine. The creative crew soon realizes they’re meeting individuals with a range of abilities and challenges. Despite struggles, cerebral palsy doesn’t define who they are.

Dude Milan developed the appeal on behalf of Italian advocacy group FightTheStroke Foundation. Directed by Tommaso Pitta, the adland set-up conveys a serious message: It’s time to burst misconceptions about CP, which can impact people in many different ways.

Dubbed “A Truly Cerebral Campaign,” the project introduces a talent archive of people with CP to expand casting choices and educate creatives.

“For years, we have tried to explain Cerebral Palsy through what it can limit,” says FightTheStroke president Francesca Fedeli. “But no definition could capture the whole experience, because Cerebral Palsy never looks the same from one person to another.”

“If even a creative team cannot identify the ‘right’ person with cerebral palsy, how can we expect the world to recognize the condition through a single face or a single story? That is why we are not looking for one person to represent everyone. We are opening the casting to everyone.”

To that end, the group invites people with CP to send videos—using #TrulyCerebral and tagging @FightTheStroke—discussing their passions, hopes and aspirations.

These submissions will live in an archive to assist agencies, production companies, filmmakers and brands.

Here, Dude creative director Cecilia Rocchetta takes us inside the campaign:

The creative approach stems from your own experience with the client, yes?

We faced the challenge of representing cerebral palsy in all its complexity firsthand, and realized that this could be the clearest and most direct way to tell that story. We used familiar advertising tropes to make the film accessible even to those who are not part of our industry. We also gently poke fun at the clichés of agency life—tight deadlines, late nights and endless reworks—and at the idea that these things somehow define what we do. The real focus should be on the work itself and the missions. Leveraging such a well-known narrative structure also helped us keep the storytelling lighter, while guiding the audience step by step, mirroring the gradual learning process we experienced while trying to understand and represent it.

Talk about casting. Any Dude staffers in there playing more or less themselves?

As we wanted the film to feel international, we worked with talent agencies across Italy and Europe. Since the project was made on a very limited budget, we couldn’t afford too many extras. So yes, there is someone from Dude in the film, but only as a background extra in a few agency scenes.

The people with cerebral palsy came through FightTheStroke. Francesca put out an open call to its community. Then we organized 50 half-hour calls with the participants to learn more about their everyday lives and passions. It was a way to get to know each other and break the ice, but also to gather insights that helped us shape the script around their stories and experiences.

What was the vibe on set?

The film was shot over two-and-a-half very intense days, keeping the schedule tight to stay within budget and minimize the time commitment for everyone involved. We started joking with the shyer kids to make them laugh and feel comfortable in front of the camera, only to discover that they were the ones making us laugh. One of them was 14-year-old Diego, who wears braces on both legs and uses a walker. He joked that his dad might be too tired to drive home, so maybe he should drive instead.

There were also some very moving moments, especially seeing the parents’ reactions to their children being portrayed like movie stars. They thanked us for giving them such a special day, when we were the ones who should have been thanking them. Without them, none of this would have been possible.

When people see the ad, what’s their No.1 takeaway?

We want people to start recognizing cerebral palsy in all its diversity. The more visible it becomes, the more people will acknowledge it, helping move beyond the stigma and making space for the vitality of the people who live with it. We hope people might even start wondering whether they’ve crossed paths with someone with cerebral palsy without knowing it, and now feel encouraged to learn more and support those affected by it.

Of course, the media biz is a key part of the PSA’s audience.

We want to see more people with cerebral palsy represented in advertising, film and entertainment. That’s why the film also launches a casting call, creating a pool of real people with CP who can help bring that representation to life.

Did the project change your outlook in some way?

What struck us most was meeting children and young people with an incredible sense of humor, determination and a real hunger to do things. Cerebral palsy is part of their lives, but it certainly doesn’t stop them. We saw that same positivity and determination in the family members who accompanied them to the shoot.

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