Cashépilepsie - Fondation Française pour la Recherche sur l’Épilepsie | Clapboard Ad Archive
Cashépilepsie is a striking campaign developed by Serviceplan in 2019 for the Fondation Française pour la Recherche sur l’Épilepsie aimed at raising awareness and support for the 600,000 people living with epilepsy in France. Anchored in the public service sector, the campaign leverages a bold experiential concept timed with Purple Day on March 26th, an international epilepsy awareness day, to confront the public with the physical and social realities of epilepsy through an unexpected lens. Instead of depicting seizures directly, the campaign created a fake second-hand shop in Paris named Cash Epilepsy, where visitors encountered ordinary household items visibly damaged in epileptic seizures—such as a coffee table broken from a severe fall—each object serving as a potent metaphor for the invisible dangers and stigma epilepsy patients endure daily. Hidden cameras captured the genuine reactions of unsuspecting shoppers as the shop’s salesperson explained the widespread lack of understanding about epilepsy, the insufficient funding for research, and the urgent need for empathy and donations to improve patient lives. This immersive narrative transforms broken objects into symbolic representations of fractured lives sold at “cut down prices,” challenging public indifference and pushing epilepsy into healthcare’s spotlight. The campaign’s film distills this activation into a concise yet powerful statement that exposes the hidden struggles of epilepsy sufferers and mobilizes societal support for ongoing scientific efforts and stigma reduction. What Clapboard’s taxonomy classifies as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem—this campaign employs symbolism over literal depiction to embody epilepsy’s physical risks and social neglect through damaged everyday items, a creative approach that enhances emotional engagement and intellectual understanding without resorting to dramatization. Clapboard rates this campaign 72/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Cashépilepsie matters because it demonstrates how public service campaigns can break through societal invisibility by transforming abstract health issues into tangible, relatable experiences that demand urgent attention and action.
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