Hello Reah
Just want to thank you for giving so much time to this particular thread and for the very full responses you have given to us individually. Whatever we may think of the ad I does not detract from the fact you have given over a considerable chunk of your time to us this week. Thank you.
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How I see it is that the advert is targeting a particular market, in order to raise awareness of Parkinsons, as well as much needed funding for research etc., and in this respect it may turn out to be very successful ( I sincerely hope so)
Naturally , the PWPās featured were more than willing to have their problems aired, and the relatively small test audience was also clearly on board, but -
Frankly I donāt think that enough thought /research was put into how the thousands of PWPās not featured in the advert would react, and that is the major flaw in the design and composition of the advert?
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Thankyou for your reply, I had read the other threads and was aware that the advert was āapprovedā by people with Parkinsons. My point was that at some stage a decision was made on the overarching presentation and tone of the advert and this is where I felt a misjudgement had been made. As I mentioned before I do not want to be pitied but given agency to achieve the most I can despite having PD.
I have read with interest the previous comments and responses. This is my honest opinion of what I have read and what I saw and what it has achieved as far as I am concerned.
I know the recent Parkinsonās UK, advert was not to everyoneās taste and some found it difficult to watch which goes to show how difficult raising our profile as PWP is, and will continue to be the case. Do we need a follow up advert, of course we do, does it need to included text xxx to yyyyyy to donate Ā£ 5, Ā£10, Ā£20 or Ā£50 YES it does. Telephone numbers to donate and for further info? YES, YES.
I write a work blog every year around world Parkinsonās Day. I tell it how its and how it effects me as a person. I also post it to various groups on Facebook, to which I belong to. I have been doing this for 4 years and I tell it warts and all how it has affected not only me, but my family relationships, close friends and work colleagues. I always ask for donations, small scale but it does raise funds, and I signpost people to where they can get more info.
Any way back to the National TV ad campaign. What I will say is the national advert was hard to watch in places and it raised, only some of, the issue faced by our fellow members in a hard hitting way and brought in to the public domain. Was it difficult for me to watch? Yes. Was it upsetting / unsettling to watch? In parts yes. Did it cause concern for my close family, friends and work colleagues? To a degree yes, but it has provoked some frank and open discussions.
I have had lots of family, friends, past and present colleagues telephone me / email since it was aired / shared on social media to ask, how I was and to talk about what they had seen. The one common negative that came out was, it was too shouty and fast in places, but the positive is that it raised awareness and has got people asking questions and talking about Parkinsonās.
To those still reading, Thank you for your perseverance, and you will probably be glad to hear I am nearly finished.
Just as we are all different in how parky affects us and where and how far long we are with our journey, and which ever route, with all itās twisted and turns it has taken. So will be our views on the negatives and positive outcomes of this campaign, is it a start / step in the right direction?, Well yes of course it is. Was it the right start? Well only time will tell us that and we should all, I hope learn lessons from this for any follow up campaign which must happen.
As is right, we should all be tolerant and respect others views and listen and learn from what has been expressed. But we must all surley agree that we must as a collective group of individuals and as members of Parkinsonās UK come out from behind the shadow of other charities and raise our profile within the public domain. Letās stand proud an united and with one voice shout out we are, PWP, we are Parkinsonās UK and we need your help and not only donations. But that we want to be treated equally with other groups; in receiving benefits; free prescriptions, disabled railcards , blue badges, PIPs assessments where the assessors actually have an understanding of Parkinsonās, GPs who are engaged and trained as part of our health plan.
To all who contribute to and got the campaign to air, Thank you. To all those taking part in discussions and forums both here and on social media Thank you.
Best wishes to you all
John 
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Interesting posts, thank you. 
Jx
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Hi.
I have read all the posts on the ad now(whew!), and have duly forgotten what I read. Such is my memory. I also saw the ad on channel 4, however, and, be it good or bad , it did have a lasting effect. So that I suppose, is a plus. I remember a lot of people,not too happy, and a lot of noise, followed by another less rapid section, followed by a demand for money. Unfortunately, the details have got lost somewhere amidst it all. Perhaps more viewings will make it clearer. Then everyone will be joining in , chanting I Canāt, I Can.
I hope this is the case, as I am aware lots of people have worked really hard, and a lot of money has been spent, to bring this ad together, with the intention of both educating the general public about Parkinsonās and raising money for Research.
Just one final note- please add a please if there is a next time, not just Donate Now! Thank you. EM
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Iāve only seen it once I admit, but my immediate reaction was it was awful. I have had PD for nearly 40 years. I will look it at again, but adverts usually create an initial response/feeling and for me it was negative.
Hi @Tot, 
Youāre welcome and thank you for your kind words. I am happy I can help in any way.
Best wishes,
Reah
Hi @mike_700,
Thanks for your feedback.
We also hope that the campaign will be very successful and we want to make as much noise as possible around the campaign. Alongside our campaign activity, like the TV advert and Parkinsonās UK social media, weāre working with a group of Parkinsonās advocates to help us share the campaign once it launches. Together, we can reach more people and raise vital funds for Parkinsonās research.
This is our first time working with our community to share a campaign in this way and weāve chosen to work with a small group of passionate community members this time. This is so that we can pilot this approach and see what works so that we can learn and do better for future campaigns.
To answer your point about thought/research that went into the ad; as mentioned previously, we also tested the TV ad with a group of people with Parkinsonās - they were a diverse group of people both male and female, ranging in age from mid 40s - mid 70s and people from all four of the nations. They provided feedback on the direction of the overall TV development and script.
Again, we really appreciate your feedback and weāre always looking for ways to improve on the work that we do. If youāre interested in working with us for future campaigns weād love to hear from you.
Please email [email protected] to register your interest in hearing more.
Best wishes,
Reah
Hi @Camargue,
Youāre welcome and thanks again for your feedback, I will share it with my wider team. 
Best wishes,
Reah
Iāve been trying soooo hard to show uncharterisric restraint and refrain from posting on this thread again but my resolve is never great at stupid oclock in the morning 
.
The advert is out there so it is what it is but I am left wondering how to find out more about proposed marketing campaigns in future and how to be more involved. Emailing the campaigns team does not mean that you will be informed about or selected for any given campaign or project - I have no idea how the whole process works.
Moving forward, it would be great if Parkinsonās UK would open up the reviewing of proposed marketing materials to a much, much wider audience of people living with Parkinsonās Disease before releasing them into the public domain. Any such organisation does, after all, have a great deal of responsibility in terms of the way that it publicly presents all of those who it represents.
I totally respect the passion, commitment and bravery of the people involved in this advert; maybe it will raise the profile of the condition and hopefully it will achieve the desired goal of increasing donations. I very much accept that the point of view of those who support it is just as valid as mine. The difference is that I have had no voice and no representation in something that exposes me very publicly in a way I would personally not choose to be exposed.
I hadnāt realised that this advert was just the start of some bigger marketing campaign! I wait with baited breath 
. Jx
p.s. Is there a link to this advert or any information about the wider campaign on the website in order that website users can easily access it? Iām probably being very dozy; I know it must be there but I canāt find it.
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Hi @Jackson,
Thanks again for your feedback.
If youāre keen to be more involved in our campaign then Iād suggest you email our marketing team at [email protected] or please feel free to send me your contact details via private message and I will pass it onto to the relevant person.
Also, Do you use other social media or email comms? As we often ask for people with Parkinsonās to be involved through those means, and Iād suggest keeping an eye out on other communications to hear for opportunities to be involved.
We are working on how we can consult with a wider group of people, through a Parkinsonās Panel or something similar which is currently being developed.
Best wishes,
Reah
Speaking to a member of our cafe group with young onset, on seeing the advert he felt he was left feeling depressed.
All I can say is well done Parkinsonās UK
Sitting here watching only fools and horses, when the adverts come onā¦omgā¦my husband diagnosed at 52 in July ā¦finding it hard to come to terms with, the last few weeks hes slightly raising his head form the hole he buried it in and whamā¦we watch that, which not only knocked the wind out of his sails, but we both sat there and couldnāt look at each other for 5 minsā¦im.sorry to say, that I donāt know how to lighten it up for him now, how to make him not feel scared of what may comeā¦yes the 2nd part of advert was quite goodā¦but the first part made my stomach churnā¦especially as he has been so down and depressed since finding out he has PDā¦
Hello Poppet
I was horrified when I read your post. Please, please if you can get him to read this. I am just about to ācelebrateā the 11th year of my diagnosis. I live alone and largely manage everything on my own. The advert had mixed reviews but many on the forum were unhappy with the way it portrayed us. I have a friend whose husband has Parkinsonās and her main concern was exactly what happened to you and your husband. I am not going to lie to you, it can be a challenge to live with Parkinsonās and itās not always easy but it is possible to have a good and positive life with it albeit a bit different to one you may have planned. The first few months are hard for many, it can take a time to get your head round the diagnosis, time to get the medication right and so on. A lot of people too, go mad reading everything in sight and end up feeling like they are falling into a black hole with no way out. In most it is a slow moving condition giving time to adjust to changes and so on. I felt the same as you about the ad, yes the second half was positive but the first half was such a shock the other didnāt really register. I personally believe a positive attitude is the strongest tool you can have to manage and cope with Parkinsonās and key to that is to remember you are first and foremost x (sorry you didnāt put your husbandās name) who happens to have Parkinsonās - he has it, it doesnāt have him. As someone who has lived with it for 11 years I hope you both feel I can speak with some validity and I truly hope it helps. Life with Parkinsonās is not the end of the world unless you make it so, itās just a different one. Take care and my best wishes to you both.
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Hi Poppet,
I was truly saddened to read your post. I know itās really hard but I think that it is important to understand the intention of the advert in order to be able to put it into perspective. The advert was designed to āstand outā and be āhard-hittingā. It was intended to make people sit up and notice Parkinsonās Disease and consequently make them want to donate money to the charity at a time when all charities are struggling to maintain income. The advert represents the symptoms and experiences of real individuals with Parkinsonās at a certain point in their lives with the condition and there is definitely a case for opening up a dialogue about some of the more challenging symptoms that can develop but whether this was the right medium and the right approach is, in my opinion, questionable.
While I understand and respect the intention of the advert, it does portray a very one-dimensional image of Parkinsonās Disease which can be hard to watch for some of us who are living with the condition as well as our families and friends. The advert is aimed at raising awareness of the need for research that will hopefully result in better treatments and eventually, a cure. It mentions things that people can do in terms of joining forces to achieve these goals but adverts are time limited and need to be focused and therefore it doesnāt show all the things that people are doing today to live the best life they can with Parkinsonās Disease utilising the treatments and support available now.
I think if you can accept the intention of the advert, then you may be able to see beyond it and focus on your own situation and your own experiences.
I risk repeating the very wise words that have already been written in response to your post but I just want to reinforce that everybody has their own experience of Parkinsonās Disease. Life with PD is a long journey which has to be easier if those of us directly impacted by it can find a way to live with it rather than in fear of it
I was diagnosed at 48 and I thought my life was over when I heard the words Parkinsonās Disease. I found the diagnosis very hard to come to terms with, not everybody does but I certainly did. Eight years down the line, however, and Iām still doing things that I enjoy and Iām still living alone and completely independently. .
I am not going to pretend that I like having Parkinsonās Disease but I refuse to let it define me. I have learnt to tell people that I have Parkinsonās Disease without making any apology and I am grateful that my friends laugh at me and arenāt scared to address my symptoms in an honest and realistic way. As Tot has already said, it isnāt the life I had planned but it is the one that I have and I can find a lot of positives in my life in spite of my diagnosis. I know things might change in the future but I am working on crossing that bridge when I get there rather than camping out there right now.
We are all individual and what works for one person doesnāt work for another but I think itās really important to just keep talking and not to be afraid to say how you feel.There is no wrong or right reaction to this diagnosis; we all come to terms with it in our own way and at our own pace and it is really important to hang on to this.
Take care and keep posting.
Jx
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Saw the advert for the first time, during a programme on Dave, the worst thing about it was the quick cut editing, I have no problems with the content.
When I heard that there was an advert I asked a number of friends living in my retirement community to watch and give me feed back. One person thought it was brilliant, she said it made her sit up and think. The rest were largely shocked by both the style and contentā¦ some felt attacked by the speed, others just annoyed by it. Several commented that they had not realised how young some people were or that the disease was so varied, and ānot a tremor in sightā. One was confused, thinking the ācanā section had already been achieved ie we have a cure! No one had felt particularly moved to make a donation, which was disappointing.
For my part, having had this condition for 6 years, and been a pretty active member of this community in that time, I was glad to feel that something of my own struggles was recognised. No I donāt want pity etc, but I do want understanding and sometimes, yes, a bit of sympathy and understanding. I was glad that the advert didnāt pull its punches. Iām truly sorry though for the distress that it has caused to some newly diagnosed people, I can fully understand that.
Overall I think itās a good start, but as others have said it needs a slower, gentler sort of follow up.
Sent my post before Iād finished, but maybe good to stop me agonising over it too much!
I just wanted to add that early warning/info about future adds would really help. Also, to those who have been distressed by it thankyou to Jackson for thoughtful and postitive posts
S
Thank you all for your advice. I think when you are newly diagnosed, for some its alot to take in and digest as it is, but when its as hard hitting as that advert, its really scary, infact our 21yr old daughter had already seen the advert, but hadnāt said anything, said 'dad, in order for the charities to get funding, they have to really show the hard bits, otherwise noone will take notice ā he told her he knows this, and that he will take PD as it comes, and nothing will stop him, never has, never willā¦I thank you all so much for your lovely replies, it really does mean alot to hear the inspiring posts, to be honest thats what I look at and relay back to himā¦drip fed of course lolā¦until heās ready to pop in and say hi on here xx
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