Experiential Made From 9,000 Flowers, This Brain Sculpture Reveals a Key Message About Opioid Addiction It's a disease, not a weakness, says McCann Health's NYC activationBy David Griner|April 5, 2019 In NYC's Herald Square, nonprofit Shatterproof's art installation made from pink carnations was speckled with black poppies to illustrate addiction as a disease.McCann HealthShare By David Griner|April 5, 2019 Share There’s little disagreement on the devastating scope of the opioid epidemic, but that doesn’t always mean there’s consensus on how it should be addressed. With 130 Americans dying daily from opioid overdose, according to a new campaign from nonprofit Shatterproof, some addiction specialists fear that misconceptions about the victims—specifically the view that their addiction stems from lack of self-control rather than a disease—are limiting our society’s ability to reverse the trend. To this end, an attention-grabbing activation from McCann Health and Shatterproof aimed to show passersby in New York’s Herald Square how opioids can infect the brains of the addicted. McCann Health and McCann New York designed a brain sculpture made from 9,000 pink carnations, then gradually inserted black poppies to convey the effect of opioids. If a visitor pulled one of the poppies in the “HopeStems” activation, it revealed a message about opioid addiction as a disease: “Unfortunately, stigma remains a major barrier to care for most people with substance use issues,” says addiction expert Dr. Lipi Roy in a statement about the experiential activation. “As an addiction medicine specialist, I remind people every day of two key points: Addiction is a chronic medical illness, a disease of the brain, where relapse is expected. [Also,] addiction is not a sign of moral weakness or failure. Most people with addiction, once connected to the appropriate treatment and recovery services, get better.” Shatterproof was founded through a $5 million donation by Gary Mendell, whose son died in 2011 after a lengthy struggle with opioid addiction. After his son’s death, Mendell was frustrated to learn how little addiction treatment was based on techniques with scientifically proven results. Shatterproof has since worked to close this gap. Here’s a closer look at the activation, which was on display this week outside the Macy’s Flower Show: CREDITS: Client: Shatterproof, NY Lead Agency: McCann Health, New York In Support – McCann NY Public Relations Agency – Weber Shandwick Global CCO – Matt Eastwood President, North Americas – Amar Urhekar President, McCann Health, New York (MHNY) – Leo Tarkovsky Chief Creative Officer, MHNY – June Laffey VP, ACD – Matt Sherring ACD – Travis Borgess Executive Producer – Deb Archambault Producer – Phoebe Chao ACD – Sage Romano Senior Art Director – Kiril Shevyakov Art Director- Nicole Myer Account Director – Michael Mutchler Gary Chu EVP, Managing Partner SVP, Experience Strategy – Jacqueline LoveLock EVP Executive Strategy Director – Erica Yahr Experience Strategy Director – Anna Gaudio Music composition: Jeremy Turner/Heatjt Manager, Media Relations – Kat Romaniuk Shatterproof: Founder, Chairman and CEO – Gary Mendell Director of Content Strategy – Stacy Gerard Senior Communications Manager -Holly Jespersen Senior Creative Manager – Jessica Ishikawa Senior Editor – Jess Keefe Director, Shatterproof Ambassador/Community Alliance Program – Lynne A. Nouvel Director of Technology – Anthony Della Camera Production Partners: Waterlily Pond Floral Designers – Natasha Lisitsa, Daniel Schultz Paper Floral Designers – Makerie Co, Julie Wilkinson Greenhouse Provider – Exaco Co. Portrait Photography – Gus Powell Time Lapse Photography – Matt T Butler Director of Photography – Eric Perini Website Production – Dan Graham, SM2 Dev Adweek Adweek