Works of Art Symbolise Real Stroke Survivors’ Experiences

By using artwork, AMV BBDO helps people to understand that a stroke happens in the brain – the control centre for who you are and what you can do – and how the impact varies depending on which part of the brain is affected. It could be anything from wiping out your speech and physical abilities to affecting your emotions and personality.

The film was directed by Lotje Sodderland (Netflix documentary “My Beautiful Broken Brain”), herself a stroke survivor. Sodderland was able to tap into how important it is to be able to use art and visual storytelling to convey the intensity of the trauma. She comments: “Although it is exhilarating to have survived a life-threatening condition, the recovery period is very slow and learning to live with your new brain can be devastating. To reach the period of acceptance takes a long time, so finding new ways to communicate and express ourselves is absolutely key. We wanted to work with a wide range of artists in diverse mediums to reflect the profoundly personal nature of neural recovery and worked closely with each survivor to assign the right artist to her or his experience. Each survivor has a unique story and we really wanted to embody that diversity in the campaign - because in my experience this is one of the challenges for the medical world to tackle; how to help stroke survivors regain their selfhood when they don’t know who the person was before, or who they might turn out to be, especially when she or he may have lost the ability to communicate? So it was very important to me to get a broad, rich range of creative expressions that would convey the subjective nature of human consciousness.”

Toby Allen, Creative Partner from AMV BBDO said: “We wanted to give stroke survivors a voice and a face, letting them tell their own story in their own words. Each stroke is different and that diversity comes across in the survivors featured and the different ways we’ve represented their experience.”

Jemima Maunder-Taylor, Senior Strategist from AMV BBDO said: “Our new platform, Rebuilding Lives, exposes the shocking reality of how devastating a stroke can be and the urgent need to support survivors. We’ve discovered through this process the amazing resilience of survivors as they rebuild their lives.”

Dominic Brand, Executive Director of Marketing from the Stroke Association said: “When stroke strikes, part of your brain shuts down. And so does a part of you. That’s because a stroke happens in the brain, the control centre for who we are and what we can do. The impact varies depending on which part of the brain is affected. It could be anything from wiping out your speech and physical abilities, to affecting your emotions and personality. Crucially, the stroke survivors in our campaign are living proof that life after stroke is possible. Recovery is tough, but with the right specialist support and a ton of courage and determination, the brain can adapt.”