SPECIAL OLYMPICS | DIFFERENT | 2001
2001: A Word the World Didn't Know Yet / SPECIAL OLYMPICS "DIFFERENT"
The year was 2001. That year, Special Olympics put forward a single word: "DIFFERENT." This ad went on to win gold.
The problem
Special Olympics was founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities. The early 2000s were a period of worldwide growth for the organization, as it expanded into Africa and Asia.
The idea
The title is "DIFFERENT." How did the ad choose to show difference? How did it choose to talk about it? The answer should be right there in the film itself.
What happened
All that remains on record is the fact that it won gold.
Afterthought
More than 20 years have passed since 2001, and the word "DIFFERENT" is now understood more widely and more deeply than it once was. I can only imagine how much courage it took to put that word forward back when this ad was made. But I still believe it matters, without question, that this one ad existed.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2001
