The Foundation partnered with entertainment company Maximum Effort, helmed by MJFF Board member Ryan Reynolds, to bring the tremendous momentum of today’s Parkinson’s research to broad audiences through a gently humorous, accessible and compelling message.
The campaign features Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford in a playful exchange about how best to support a friend with Parkinson’s, now the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease, for which there is still no cure. Already impacting more than 6 million individuals worldwide, Parkinson’s is projected to double globally by 2040.
“The world has taken notice of the special relationship between Michael and Harrison. Our brand campaign combines humor and compassion to highlight the very serious purpose behind our work,” said Debi Brooks, MJFF’s CEO and Co-Founder. “It has been a joy to see these Hollywood giants come together to capture attention and channel it toward what matters most: bringing greater awareness and support to people and families living with Parkinson’s.”
Fox and Ford’s lighthearted banter uses humor to surface some of the real challenges of living with the disease, from changes in handwriting to social isolation. The nearly two-minute video — also available at michaeljfox.org/BeAFriend — exemplifies the signature optimism and candor Fox has brought to MJFF’s mission to speed a cure, a mission now backed by more than $3 billion in Foundation-funded research globally.
“Michael has a remarkable way of making difficult things easier to talk about, and that’s part of what makes working with him and being his friend so special. We wanted to bring some of that honesty and humor to a conversation that a lot of people may not know how to have,” said Harrison Ford. “Parkinson’s affects millions of people, and sometimes the best thing you can do is simply be there. I’m glad we can use this campaign to help people feel a little more comfortable having those conversations, and to support the important work of The Michael J. Fox Foundation.”
Parkinson’s research is at an extraordinary inflection point, with the potential for unprecedented scientific breakthroughs. Since its launch in 2000, the Foundation has relentlessly focused on galvanizing philanthropic resources to transform the state of Parkinson’s drug development, helping drive the field to this moment of tremendous promise. The campaign leverages this momentum in advance of the public launch of MJFF’s All Grit. No Quit. Campaign, a multi-year $2.5-billion fundraising initiative to further accelerate the development of new treatments, and ultimately, a cure.
“So…Your Friend Has Parkinson’s” plays off the chemistry between Fox and Ford in Apple TV’s Emmy-nominated original series “Shrinking.” In the series, they portray characters living with Parkinson’s, bringing to the screen — and the national conversation — many of the realities experienced by people and families living with the disease. Two members of MJFF’s Patient Council serve as advisors to the “Shrinking” writers’ room.
“The idea came from watching Harrison and Michael together on Shrinking. They have this incredible natural chemistry, and we wanted to see what happened if we took away the characters and just let them be themselves. So we gave them a question a lot of us will probably face at some point, but no one really knows how to answer: what do you do when a friend tells you they have Parkinson’s?” said Kathleen Swanson, Head of Creative for Brand & Entertainment Marketing at Maximum Effort. “Harrison asks the honest questions. Michael answers them with his trademark humor and candor. And between the two of them, they somehow make a pretty difficult conversation feel remarkably easy. Hopefully we made something that’s funny, useful, and makes it a little easier to show up for someone you love. Which, as it turns out, is mostly about showing up.”
