• by Les Luchter , February 24, 2024

Caregivers for people suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia are well aware -- and fearful -- of one common but lesser-discussed symptom of the condition: leaving the house to wander aimlessly on the streets.

This symptom is the focus of a recently released newspaper/out-of-home awareness/education campaign created by Miami-based multicultural agency Republica Havas on behalf of The Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease Association (ALMA), the Argentinian member of Alzheimer’s Disease International.

Each of three ads features a stark image showing a wanderer in a shaft of light, but otherwise surrounded by complete darkness.

“One second they know where they are. The next they don’t,” states the text of ads “Six out of 10 Alzheimer’s patients can get lost.”

"One of the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease is disorientation,” explains Guillermo Andrés Ferro, ALMA vice president, in a statement. “It can lead the affected person to develop behaviors such as wandering without apparent purpose or destination. It is a normal behavior of the disease.”

Republica Havas chief creative officer Tony Waissmann tells Marketing Daily that the campaign will succeed if people who view the ads “come across someone like that on the street” and then help them.

In Argentina, the ads are in Spanish, but Republica Havas produces the English-language versions like the one shown above,“to show the work in the U.S. and globally,” Waissman says. That comes in handy for awards submissions, as evidenced by last year’s first agency campaign on behalf of ALMA, which focused on Alzheimer’s patients confusing people’s names and won two Cannes Lions awards.

Waissman says a third campaign is now in production.