An October initiative in the USA sets out to prevent brain injuries by stopping kids from playing tackle football through an integrated marketing campaign.
The Public Service Announcement (PSA) from The Concussion Legacy Foundation, which is fronted by former NFL player Chris Borland, urges parents to keep their kids from playing tackle football until they are at least 14.
The campaign features former San Francisco 49ers star Chris Borland, who retired from the game after his rookie year citing fears of CTE from years of unreported concussions.
It is spearheaded by a hero commercial which compares tackle football to smoking and features young kids playing football and puffing away as parents hand around cigarettes to the children and even help them light up.
The PSA is running in TV, digital and social media placements and is supported by a ‘Making Of’ video
and is linked by the #TackleCanWait hashtag.
Our new #TackleCanWait PSA is based on new BU #CTE Center research which shows the link between years of tackle football and developing #CTE is stronger than the link between years of smoking and developing lung cancer.@CNN has more:https://t.co/WXjsobjdJ9
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) October 11, 2019
Former college football player Joe Campigotto died in 2016 with #CTE. His daughter, Angela Harrison, was @Fingerpainters lead creative on this week's #TackleCanWait PSA.
Hear Angela's story and see the PSA here:https://t.co/KJw9zjBf4W
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) October 12, 2019
Need another reason #TackleCanWait?
The top-five #NFL players of all-time didn't start playing tackle football until they were in high school.
Check out our All-Time Greatest Team of #NFL legends who skipped youth tackle football:https://t.co/WDKEbBzhjE pic.twitter.com/e4ukQ7E4f5
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) October 13, 2019
"As the evidence against youth tackle football piles up to the point of being indisputable, why should this safety issue be ignored?"
This @masslivenews editorial weighs in on the value of this week's #TackleCanWait PSA.https://t.co/iddWczufWJ
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) October 12, 2019
Plus the non-profit amplifies real world football clips and stories about players linked to the topic of concussion.
#Jaguars TE Geoff Swaim is being evaluated for a #concussion after this hit from #Saints LB Demario Davis.
Best wishes to Swaim. pic.twitter.com/YT93MJRVws
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) October 13, 2019
Former #Saints and #Falcons DT Greg Lens and 265 other deceased former football players were a part of a new BU CTE Center study published this week which found the risk of developing CTE increases by 30 percent for each year played.@KSTP has more:https://t.co/4ISANTJZu3
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) October 13, 2019
The campaign launched on 10 October and was created by full service health and wellness agency FingerPaint where the team included shoot and location manager Angela Harrison, while the spot was helmed by Andy Spitzer, with social media planning by Katie Beller, Julie Thomas and Kana Harding, digital assets were handled by Andrea Pemberton, Anna Knapp, John Armstrong and Kyle Franzen, the designers were Brad Wilson and Matthew Bitley, the producer was Taryn Marino, with creative direction by Sheyda Karvar and Rebecca Carpenter and production by Bully Pictures
Creative Angela Harrison and Director Rebecca Carpenter are both the children of former football players who developed CTE.
Comment:
The smoking and the tackling in the spot is, of course, simulated and/or performed by teenaged stunt actors.
The health comparison here is clear, graphic and powerfully punchy.
This is a campaign focused on kids playing American Football, but rugby parents should take note too.
Parents typically go to great lengths to protect their kids from known diseases and preventable injuries, but this graphic PSA compares the dangers of tackle football – played by kids as young as five-years-old – with smoking.
The campaign highlights The Concussion Legacy Foundation’s mission to showcase the dangers of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) caused by head injuries like concussions that are common in football.
Links:
Concussion Legacy Foundation
https://concussionfoundation.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/sportslegacydotorg
https://twitter.com/concussionLF
https://www.facebook.com/ConcussionFoundation
https://www.instagram.com/concussionfoundation/
FingerPaint
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