An Opioid Addict's Three-Day Detox Was Streamed to an NYC Video Display

America in recent years has awoken to the epidemic of opioid abuse, but often we hear about it only through the lens of the aftermath: Either as tales of those who walked back from the brink or of those whose lives were lost to addiction. What we don't see is the recovery process itself, a time of great vulnerability and suffering for those cutting themselves off from drugs. In a new PSA called "Treatment Box," the Truth campaign—along with creative agency 72andSunny, production house M SS NG P ECES, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Ad Council—shows how a cube-shaped video displayed in New York City allowed passersby to watch as an opioid addict named Rebekkah went through her first three days of detox. It's a powerful thing to watch, but even more potent is the bravery she demonstrated in putting her recovery experience on public display. "If making my detox public is going to help somebody," she says in the video case study, "I'm all for it." Here's the 6-and-a-half-minute version recapping her story and the video presentation of her recovery experience: [kickout id="1"] The Ad Council is also airing a 60-second version of the video, with media support from NBCU, Vice, Viacom, Soundcloud, Spotify, Facebook, Google and YouTube, Vevo, Snapchat, and Chegg: [kickout id="2"] As she explains in the videos, Rebekkah was a dancer who injured her ankle, leading a doctor to prescribe opioid painkillers, to which she quickly became addicted. "There's no caution, no red flag at all," she says. "It was, 'Take this to feel better,' and that was it." After several months on painkillers, her addiction escalated to heroin. "I want the next girl who gets injured dancing to know what the future could hold by the next decision that she makes," she says, "because that decision I made to go to the doctors and to not get the surgery, that's the worst decision I made in my whole life." CREDITS: Brand: truth Project: Opioids - Treatment Box Client: truth Chief Executive Officer: Robin Koval Chief Marketing Officer: Eric Asche Chief Communications Officer: Tricia Kenney SVP, Marketing & Media Investment: Nicole Dorrler General Counsel: Robert Faulk Managing Director, Marketing: Mary Dominguez 72andSunny Team Creative Director/Designer: Garrett Jones Creative Director/Writer: Nate Virnig / Peter Albores Designer: Garrett Combes Writer: Chase Hilton Strategy Director: Marc Pardy Connections Strategy Director: Greg White Brand Director: Danielle Gard Brand Manager: Marie Simoni Partnerships and Legal Director: Amy Jacobsen / Jana Nauman Partnerships and Legal Manager: Hector Olguin Executive Film Producer: Carlin Wilson-Webb / Jim Haight Film Producer: Annie Dietz Production Vendor: M SS NG P ECES Director: Tucker Walsh Executive Producer: Brian Latt Executive Producer: Kathryn Berk & Dave Salzman Producer: Jennifer Duffy DOP: Tristan Nyby Casting Director: Dina Buglione Editorial: White House Postproduction: Carbon Post Producer: Jordan Stricklin Editor: James Dierx Sound Design: Michael Anastasi Music House: Butter Music Producer: Annick Mayer Music Composer: Vlad Berkhemer Music House: Butter Executive Producer: Annick Mayer Producer: Stone Irr