• by Larissa Faw , May 10, 2016

The advocacy group BlindNewWorld, sponsored by Perkins School for the Blind is launching an awareness campaign to change the perceptions that the general public has concerning blindness.

The campaign concept is based on findings from a study conducted by Perkins to gauge the general public's perception on blindness. The study found that there are four barriers that often prevent the blind from being accepted by mainstream society:  discomfort, fear, pity and stigma. 

The advocacy group believes that the blind community is one of the least understood disability groups in America, citing findings that more than half (53%) of sighted people say they are uncomfortable around blind people.

A majority also don’t think they can buy clothes, travel alone or cook. 

Now, the group is using this information to craft messages designed to overcome these barriers and misperceptions.  Brightmark Consulting developed the campaign and Original Film in Los Angeles produced the videos at the core of the campaign, which will be hosted on the BlindNewWorld.org site.

The videos were directed by Tom DeCerchio, who created the Snapple tagline "the best stuff on Earth." 

 Spotify has agreed to donate ad space and will be showing banner ads that link to the BlindNewWorld.org site.