“Hi, this is Glenn Close. Have you ever cut off ties with a friend who has cancer? Or were frightened by a person with diabetes because you assumed he was violent? Welcome to the world of mental illness. For the 1 in 4 people with mental illness, the stigma and discrimination can be as painful as the disease itself. Change your mind about mental illness and you can change a life.” This is the copy of a radio commercial starring actress Glenn Close as part of a campaign from Bring Change 2 Mind, an organization working toward erasing the stigma and discrimination of those suffering from mental illness. I had already seen the television commercial, beautifully shot by Ron Howard. It’s evocative and moving, and the message was clear. By speaking out and putting a face to mental illness, it is hoped that the public’s negative misconceptions about mental illness are overcome. Wonderful premise. I’m all for it.
Then I hear the radio commercial, which had a different narrative, and wondered where the disconnect between the radio and TV ads occurred. “Were you frightened by a person with diabetes because you assumed he was violent?”
What??
I couldn’t figure out at first to whom she was aiming that statement. According to Bring Change 2 Mind, 1 in 6 adults live with a brain-related illness. So, was the diabetes line aimed at the 1 or the other 5? Either way, to me, it doesn’t make sense.
But worse, it threw another illness under the stigma bus. Do we really need to put out there that there are those who think people with diabetes are violent? And for that matter, stigmatizing cancer patients as well. Why put a negative spotlight on another segment of society who also suffers from discrimination because of an illness. Admittedly, I am hypersensitive about diabetes issues as my 25-year-old daughter has borne the burden of Type 1 diabetes for 14 years. She is one of nearly 26 million Americans to suffer from diabetes (3 million of the 26 million have Type 1). And in the U.S., a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds. Clearly, there are many in our world who suffer from illness and who suffer from discrimination as a result of illness. Shall I tell you how many times my daughter has been told if she exercises and doesn’t eat sugar, she won’t have diabetes? Countless. And for the record, that is a fallacy that won’t seem to fade.
I understand that putting the spotlight on disease and giving it a human face can go far in getting strangers to understand, sympathize and empathize. What I don’t support is using a throw-away line that casts a negative light on another segment of society. We’re fighting our own battles, too. We don’t need it to be made more difficult and more complicated because some copywriter wrote what was thought of as a good line.
But, the work of the work of Bring Change 2 Mind is admirable, so in the spirit of support, here’s the TV commercial. Powerful, do you think?
Ironically, the song choice for the commercial is “Say What You Mean To Say.” I couldn’t agree more. But more importantly, be sure what you’re saying is logical and truly conveys the point you are trying to make.