BBDO’s filming and editing tricks powerfully capture the heartbreaking ‘glitch’ that is Alzheimer’s

BBDO Germany has unveiled one of the most visually intriguing PSAs about Alzheimer’s in quite some time, using camera and editing techniques to suggest that the disease is a glitch in the brain.

Perhaps inspired in part by Severance and Everything Everywhere All at Once, both of which illustrate brain activity visually, the new film combines “data moshing” editing effects with a first-person POV to compellingly place the viewer in the shoes of the protagonist—an older woman who is suffering the effects of Alzheimer’s.

The results are impressive. This is one of the most artful ads ever made about Alzheimer’s, and should appeal to younger viewers in particular, who are well versed in effects like data moshing. The client is the Alzheimer Forschung Initiative. The director was Pedro Giomi of Caviar.

“We wanted to create a story that people living in an environment where Alzheimer’s is present would easily relate to, and those who have no idea how it works would be shocked by the overwhelming feeling,” said Dr. Cristian Leibinnes, managing director, and Christian Leimbach, head of PR, at the AFI. 

“People have been using the ‘data mosh’ effect to create many types of cool content and memes on TikTok and Instagram. Now we are using it to invite this audience to join a bigger challenge,” added Kristoffer Heilemann, managing director of creative at BBDO Group Germany.

The agency and director teamed with neurologist Dr. Michael Lorrain to create a design interpretation of the brainwaves of patients living with Alzheimer’s disease to bring the glitch to life.

“The biggest challenge was to translate the story in a compelling way visually that would not only shine a new light in the disease for those who haven’t experienced Alzheimer’s closely but would also touch the hearts of those who been in touch with the disease,” former BBDO creative director Pedro Americo told Ad Age.