Analyze of Alzheimer Association Ad

Done without sound 

0:00 

The scene is animated, not like a cartoon but like a drawing, almost in an old-time format. The drawn scene was also outside in a town. In the foreground of the first clip, there was a stop sign which was outlined with blue. This stop sign was unquestionably the main focus of this scene as everything else in the scene was white and almost seemed to blend together into the background. It’s implied that since the stop sign is the biggest item and the item is highlighted in a different color the author is implying a message through it. Perhaps the message is that we’re moving too fast and need to stop to realize that something is happening. The author wants us to pause and possibly think about something 

0:01-0:03 

At this time the camera rapidly moves to show a clear picture of the back of the stop sign and a car behind the sign. I assumed that this car was there the whole time looking at the stop sign but due to perspective we couldn’t see it. The stop sign remained blue and the car is white like the rest of the background. This further shows that the stop sign still is of importance despite the fact a car has appeared. At this time we can’t see any individuals in the car, just a sketch of the outline of a car. The car stops as told and remains still at the sign for a decent amount of time. This indicates that the author wants the individuals in the car to heed the message the stop-signing is portraying. Maybe since we saw the stop sign too he wants us to heed the message as well. 

0:04

The drawn animation moves away from the stop sign and now we get to see people in the car. Two people in the car to be exact. The people appear in the main focus and now they have a blue outline meaning they are important in some way along with the stop sign. They are looking in the direction of the sign indicating they noticed the sign and we’re looking at it and obliging to its directions. The camera shows more focus on the driver who appears to be male, has glasses, and a hunched back. It can be assumed this individual is an older individual, even elderly. We don’t get to see too many details about the other person in the car. We see his outline and that he has glasses and that’s it. Clearly, this shows that the one driving is the more important of the two and is perhaps the eyes through which we are seeing the town through. The driver puts a finger to his mouth to indicate an expression of contemplation and thought. Perhaps since they are in an Alzheimer’s video they are trying to remember something. 

0:05 

The drawn animation now rapidly turns to show the side and then the back of the car. From this, we get a nice glimpse of the road in the background of the car. From this point, I’m sensing that the ad is directed to older individuals with Alzheimer’s to slow down. Given that there was another person in the car this indicates it’s not just the victim of Alzheimer’s but also those around them that need to stop and slow down too. Maybe they need to stop to realize they even have the illness. 

0:06-0:0

The town that was in front of the car starts floating in the air and then disappears. I’m assuming this is to indicate that we are seeing the world from the Alzheimer’s  point of view and the individual is losing memory of things that are so familiar to them such as their town. I like how the video doesn’t necessarily say it’s forgotten but just shows it disappeared portraying that through the individual’s perspective they don’t realize it’s forgetting they just know that things are different.

0:10 – 0:13 

The camera gradually pans out to a birds-eye view of the city. The blue car is still in the main ground focus and still highlighted blue. There is another car in view now but it’s on the other side of the street and does not have the blue lining. The rest of the city gradually starts floating up and disappearing until there is nothing left including the car. All that remained was a white space for a second. 

0:14-0:17

Blue person appears again, this time faceless, with remnants of the city floating aimlessly  around him. Finger to mouth portrays expression of thinking, or even confusion. Everything around him still white and not blue 

0:18-0:19

The camera zooms in on person and now you can see more in depth their appearance and facial expression. Earlier I said it was a male but now that I can see her face more I see that she has an earring so I believe it is a girl now. She is still confused and even looks scared 

0:20-0:22 

Another person appears beside the woman. He looks at her in a concerned but comforting manner. The other individual seems to be an elderly man. He puts his hand on her shoulder. This indicates that in comforting her the author wants us to see that we should comfort those with Alzheimer’s instead of being mad or upset at them. He’s portraying that even in their weakness they deserve understanding, comfort, and love. This implores a sense of empathy for the elderly woman with Alzheimer’s which is the ethos implication directed by the author in action. She turns to him and smiles meaning she appreciates the comfort. This is another example of the portrayal of ethos implicated in the video. 

0:23

The camera pans out and we can see they are together on a bench in the town. The town looks back to normal, more realistic, and organized, and is now highlighted in blue along with the woman and the man. This indicates that now the whole town and the two people are important. After this revelation, I realized that the blue highlighting potentially indicates everything the woman remembered during the video. As we can see, if this is the case, she remembered very few things, in the beginning, starting with just the stop sign, and then as she was comforted by the man she started to remember more or maybe just feel better about everything at least. This shows the impact of being advocates for those with Alzheimer’s can have rather than being mean to them, misunderstanding, or blaming them for not remembering. Clearly, this video shows that the woman representing all those with Alzheimer’s didn’t have control over her surroundings and had no clue what was happening to her. Therefore we can see it’s not her fault and she deserves to be comforted despite being confused about what’s going on. The guy’s help made a huge difference to her condition. Overall this video shows us that oftentimes Alzheimer’s isn’t as obvious as we think it might come off only as confusion and not necessarily forgetfulness. Therefore when we realize someone is struggling with the condition we must realize it is out of their control and disorienting them beyond the means of memory. Their whole life is being turned upside down as the video literally showed. The video also showed that despite the unpredictability and uncertainty associated with the illness we can all make a difference merely by comforting those with Alzheimer’s and just by being there for them. 

0:24- 0:26 

0:27 – end 

There is now the text that appears on the screen saying that Alzheimer’s oftentimes is just a feeling of “feeling different”. As previously mentioned this implicates a sense of ethos in that we feel bad for those that have their world completely disoriented in that way and have no clue what really is going on. Now the people are just depicted talking while sitting closely on the bench one last time. The woman seems comforted and even potentially happy in the male company. This male figure can symbolize friends, family, or even a healthcare provider that one trusts. His role shows us that any person can be there for those with Alzheimer’s and make a difference. 

A  new message with a white screen now encourages individuals with Alzheimer’s to “talk”. This is in the hope that we can figure out that what they are experiencing is Alzheimer’s, how their mind works, and what we can do for them. As the video makes clear now none of this would be possible if the individual doesn’t reach out to get help. No one will be able to realize what is going on without them talking.

The last thing to see is contact information for the organization “Alzheimer’s Association.