In an effort to call attention to little known Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which is slowly and painfully killing his 6 year old son, Harrison, Alex Smith can be seen along with his son in a AIS London-created PSA for the desease which carries the headline, “I Wish My Son Had Cancer.”
The strategy behind the ad, of course, is that cancer is widely known — and well funded — as compared to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy so, in a sense, Harrison might have a fighting chance had he suffered from cancer instead.
The ad copy gets straight to the point, “Harrison, my 6 year old, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He is one of 2,500 sufferers in the UK who’ll die from it, most before they’re 20. Unlike cancer, there’s no treatment and no cure. And because you’ve never heard of it, very little funding either. My only hope is to raise as much money as possible for the research scientists. They’re close to a major breakthrough. Your 5 pounds can get them even closer.”
The ad is receiving a lot of press in the UK and Alex was invited by ITV for an interview which you can watch below.
