• by Les Luchter , October 5, 2022

Sickle cell disease (SCD, aka sickle cell anemia) may technically be a rare disease in the U.S., but hardly in the Black community.

And even there, people may not realize the intense pain people endure when sickle-shaped red blood cells have difficulty passing through small blood vessels, potentially leading to organ damage – and to a life expectancy that’s reduced by as much as 20 years.

A new public service campaign called “Believe it!” aims to increase awareness of the pain endured by people living with sickle cell disease.

Featuring 30-second TV and radio spots, the campaign comes from the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) in partnership with Forma Therapeutics. The latter, which is developing a pill to treat SCD, is in the process of being acquired for $1.2 billion by pharma giant Novo Nordisk.

“Our goal…to educate the general public on the experience of this disease by putting the patient perspective front and center --and by doing so, build support for those who live with SCD every day,” Regina Hartfield, president and chief executive officer of the SCDAA, told Marketing Daily.

While “Believe it!” is directed at the general public, BET and Black radio stations are definitely part of the mix receiving the PSAs, she said.

The TV spot shows a Black student walking in a classroom, but his teacher and fellow students don’t see what the viewers see: his feet walking across hot coals. “Living with sickle cell disease is torture,” he says in a voiceover. “Everyday tasks can be filled with pain. “I’m one of every 365 African Americans who have sickle cell disease. You can’t see our pain, but please believe it.”

The radio spot, tasked with conveying the same message without visuals, starts with a voiceover saying, “Am I trying to sack the quarterback every snap?  Believe it.” Then, the athlete asks, “Do I have sickle cell disease? Believe it. Pain crises that cause irreversible organ damage? Believe it.  And when I walk into the ER asking for help for my pain, believe me….There are 100,000 others in America just like me."

Both spots end by directing people to SCDBelieveIT.org, where they can get additional information on sickle cell disease and the SCDAA.

Anderson DDB Health & Lifestyle, which is also Forma’s creative agency, donated time for the PSAs, as did production company Fela.

“Believe it!,” which will run for a year, launched on Sept. 30. That was also the last day of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, which was earlier spotlighted by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement declaring that “recent promising developments in biomedical research give us hope for someday putting an end to this disease.”

Forma’s sickle cell drug, called etavopivat, has been given Fast Track, Rare Pediatric Disease and Orphan Drug designations by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. It is currently undergoing testing.