Alzheimer’s Society has responded to criticism of a television campaign it launched last week.
Its advert, titled the Long Goodbye, says that “with dementia you don’t just die once, you die again and again, and again”.
In comments under the video on social media, some people called it “dehumanising” and “insensitive”.
We'll be there for you.
— Alzheimer's Society (@alzheimerssoc) March 22, 2024
Again, and again, and again 💙 pic.twitter.com/L1P8gsNeni
Some said the Alzheimer’s Society should have done more to involve people with lived experience in the video’s conception while others said it contravenes the charity’s positive language guide.
Richard Kramer, chief executive of disability charity Sense, commented on X: “This is framed as hard-hitting but I found it upsetting.
“It is wrong to say that someone has died when they haven’t. It sets back older people’s and disabled people’s rights. We should be offering individuals and families hope not despair.”
Video was co-produced with people ‘directly affected by dementia’
Alzheimer’s Society chief executive Kate Lee published a statement on Sunday in response to criticism of the “hard-hitting” video.
“It was very much co-produced – from concept to creation – with hundreds of people directly affected by dementia,” she said.
“The script was written by someone drawing on her own experience, having lost her dad to the disease two years ago.
“These discussions haven’t all been easy and of course we haven’t all agreed but they have been great, challenging debates.”
She said the charity had adjusted the video script based on that feedback, and said the charity’s staff, including herself, who had created the video “have all had our own experiences of slowly losing parents to dementia too”.
‘I need us to step outside of what we’ve always done’
Lee said the video aimed to raise awareness of the reality of dementia rather than generate fundraising for the charity, which recorded an income of £118m in the year to March 2023.
“We’re hidden away from dementia being UK’s biggest killer. People just don’t understand the scale of it,” she said.
“Of course, I understand that people want to hear about living well. And it’s really hard for me to hear from those who think we haven’t taken the right approach here.
“But if we’re really going to change what a dementia diagnosis means for so many people, I need us to step outside of what we’ve always done.”
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