This Campaign Helps Canadians Living with Parkinson's Find Their Swagger

Parkinson Canada has launched a new campaign created by Broken Heart Love Affair, inviting Canadians living with Parkinson’s to 'Find Your Swagger'. 

The campaign launches a new brand purpose for the organisation and includes video, out-of-home, and digital advertising, as well as an editorial collaboration with ELLE Canada magazine as part of their September issue, all featuring real people living with Parkinson’s.

The launch video features Rob, a Toronto father and architect who lives with Parkinson’s, walking along a city street. His gait is a little funky, his arm swings wildly as he walks, and his sways attracts stares from passers by, but he wins over everyone he meets. Set to the Beck song, Beercan, the spot ends with the line “It’s not Parkinson’s. It’s Swagger.” 

Scott Townsend, vice president, brand strategy, marketing and communications at Parkinson Canada said, “we were looking for an agency whose work best represented the type of smart and bold creative we wanted for the Parkinson Canada brand. This new campaign proves we found it in Broken Heart Love Affair. The agency’s ability to reframe the negative perceptions of living with Parkinson’s in a really beautiful way was so powerful for us.”

Craig McIntosh, chief creative officer at Broken Heart Love Affair said, “First and foremost, we created this campaign for people living with Parkinson’s, not the general public. By reframing the involuntary movements of Parkinson’s as 'swagger' our intent was to boost confidence, hoping that a shift in mindset would encourage people with Parkinson’s to worry less about hiding their symptoms or retreating from life, and get out there and live boldly.”

The campaign visual identity reflects this same energy, with bold type and bright colours to further amplify the message that Parkinson’s is not a death sentence, and that many people of all ages and backgrounds continue to live full lives, some with an even more positive perspective than they did prior to their diagnosis – a bold message that Parkinson Canada hopes will inspire others.

Initiative led the media strategy and planning for the campaign. "A creative concept as inspiring as 'Find Your Swagger' deserves to be in the biggest and boldest spaces,” says Sarah Sime, vice president of client advice at Initiative Canada. We’ll be highlighting this fearless message across Canada in cinemas, throughout the Olympics broadcast, and as part of a fashion series in ELLE’s September issue, emphasizing the beauty, power, and positivity those living with Parkinson’s Disease display every day.