Strawberry Frog teamed up with New York-based humanitarian aid organization Afya Foundation for a new PSA raising awareness of the need for medical supplies to fight Ebola in West Africa.
The PSA uses the fact that five children were exposed to the Ebola virus in Texas as a way to deliver the message that medical supplies, hospital equipment and other humanitarian aid is desperately needed to stop the spread of the disease in West Africa. “I don’t want to be a statistic” a number of children say, before mentioning that they have more important things to do, like studying for a geography test or catching a basketball game. “What are you going to do to prevent me from becoming another statistic?” asks a child near the conclusion of the spot, right before viewers are prompted to donate to Afya’s Ebola relief effort.
Interestingly, the PSA doesn’t provide information on the dire state of West Africa except for in relation to the possibility of the disease spreading in the U.S. Strawberry Frog and Afya seemingly decided fear of the disease spreading domestically is a more powerful motivator than compassion for the devastation faced in West Africa (which is both sad and rather telling). Indeed, the spot ends with the message, “Please donate to Afya’s Ebola relief effort today. Before it stops us here in the United States.”
“This film is intended to be a powerful message in what feels like a voice in the wilderness, offering hope and something for people to do now to help stop Ebola in West Africa where critical care items are urgently in need,” Scott Goodson, founder and CEO of Strawberry Frog told AdRants.
According to that publication, the PSA was “developed as a collaboration between Danielle Butin of Afya, Scott Goodson of StrawberryFrog, and director Indrani, and was written by Kelly Beck and Scott Goodson.”