THE LONELINESS OF AUTISM

TitleTHE LONELINESS OF AUTISM
BrandGUANGZHOU YANG AI SPECIAL CHILDREN PARENT CLUB
Product / ServiceYANG AI FOUNDATION
CategoryB05. Stunts & Live Advertising
EntrantLEO BURNETT SHANGHAI, CHINA
Entrant Company:LEO BURNETT SHANGHAI, CHINA
Advertising Agency:LEO BURNETT SHANGHAI, CHINA

Credits

Chief Creative OfficerEddie Booth
Executive Creative DirectorGordon Hughes/Amanda Yang
Creative DirectorForest Young
CopywriterAmanda Yang/Donna Dong
Advertiser's SupervisorLarissa Feng Xin
Account SupervisorWei-Wei Chen
Art DirectorGordon Hughes/Amanda Yang/Forest Young/Huang Hai-Bo
IllustratorDicky Lui
PhotographerHenry Gan/Dean Lee
TypographerHandsome Wong/Lin Wei-Jun

Execution

In China millions parents of autistic children suffer in silence. Ignorance and 5000 years of superstition lead many people to believe that the parents of autistic children are being punished for past wrongs. Ostracized by their communities, and ignored by social services they often have no one to turn to for help. The Yang Ai Foundation, a national support group for parents of autistic children, set out to raise awareness for their plight. They did this by creating an exhibition of “Living Sculptures” on the streets of Shanghai. Dressed from head to toe in black, and bound by a sea of black ropes, the sculptures stood as a stark reminder of the heart wrenching loneliness and isolation felt by parents of autistic children. The event was reported on by more than 50 national and local media outlets: reaching an estimated audience of more than 20,000,000 people.