Main Facts London-based creative agency Pablo has partnered with the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association to launch a deeply poignant and unapologetically stark brand campaign entitled Life Stripped Away. Designed to confront the public with the unvarnished, devastating reality of Motor Neurone Disease, the multi-platform campaign showcases how the neurodegenerative condition systematically dismantles a person’s independence, voice, and deepest passions. Spanning a 90-second hero film, radio broadcasts, and striking out-of-home (OOH) photography, the campaign centers on the lived experiences of four individuals from across the United Kingdom: Jaki Jackson, Lorraine Redmond, Tahira Chaudhry, and Steve Williams. By focusing intensely on the human cost of the disease—rather than relying on abstract statistics—the campaign aims to raise vital awareness, evoke profound empathy, and accelerate the push for a cure. The creative direction of the project relies on a deliberate balance of emotional intimacy and raw realism. Spearheaded by Pablo’s Executive Creative Directors, Ray Shaughnessy and Dan Norris, the team sought to capture the truth of MND without shying away from its cruelty. To bring this vision to life, the agency enlisted the human-centred expertise of award-winning Merman director Ben Liam Jones, alongside renowned British photographer Emma Hardy, ensuring that every frame resonates with authenticity and respect. Chronology: The Making of Life Stripped Away The conceptualization and execution of Life Stripped Away required a sensitive, highly collaborative process between the creative teams at Pablo and members of the UK’s MND community. Phase 1: Conceptual Brief and Community Engagement Pablo’s creative leadership, including CCO Dan Watts and ECDs Ray Shaughnessy and Dan Norris, approached the brief with a mandate to avoid typical charity advertising tropes. Instead, they aimed for a tone that was "both tender and visceral in a truthful way." Working closely with the MND Association, the agency connected with individuals living with the disease to understand how MND progressively steals the things they love most. Phase 2: Film Production with Jaki Jackson The centerpiece of the campaign is a 90-second short film directed by Ben Liam Jones. The production focused on Jaki Jackson, a performer and singer from Brighton. Utilizing an intimate first-person point-of-view (POV), the film chronicles Jackson’s daily reality, capturing the profound shift from her vibrant past in the performing arts to the round-the-clock care she now requires from her partner, Steve. Phase 3: Voice-Banking and Radio Integration Recognizing the loss of vocal autonomy inherent to MND, Jackson collaborated with the MND Association on a voice-banking initiative. Her reconstructed voice was utilized for a powerful radio spot. In the audio clip, Jackson describes her condition with harrowing honesty: "My name’s Jaki and I love singing, but I have Motor Neurone Disease. Now I can’t even swallow, so I need phrases like ‘suction please’. I’ve banked words to describe MND too, but you can’t swear on the radio." Phase 4: OOH Photography and Surrealist Visual Effects Concurrently, photographer Emma Hardy captured portraits of three additional MND sufferers: dancehall enthusiast Lorraine Redmond, grandmother and avid gardener Tahira Chaudhry, and music producer and former session drummer Steve Williams. Pablo’s post-production team at Black Kite and designers implemented a surreal visual effect on these portraits. The surrounding world in each image appears to melt away, isolating the subject’s striking facial expressions—a deliberate metaphor highlighting that, as the body fails, a person’s eyes and gaze often remain the final bastion of expression. Supporting Data and Creative Architecture To understand the impact of Life Stripped Away, it is necessary to examine the individual components of the campaign’s media mix and the talent behind its production: Media Channels Deployed Hero Film (90-second edit): Distributed digitally and via broadcast platforms, featuring Jaki Jackson’s first-person perspective. Radio Spots: Featuring authentic voice-banked audio from Jaki Jackson, pushing the boundaries of traditional charity messaging through unfiltered honesty. Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising: Large-scale portraits displayed across public spaces, capturing Lorraine Redmond, Tahira Chaudhry, and Steve Williams in their natural environments. Production Credits and Creative Team Creative Agency: Pablo Chief Creative Officer (CCO): Dan Watts Executive Creative Directors (ECDs): Ray Shaughnessy, Dan Norris Founding Partner: Ben Kay Production Company: Merman Director: Ben Liam Jones Director of Photography (DoP): Tom Hole Editor: Quin Williams (TenThree) Audio Production: String and Tins Grade & Post-Production: Black Kite Still Photography: Emma Hardy Official Responses and Creative Insights The creators and contributors behind Life Stripped Away have emphasized the emotional weight and necessity of confronting MND without filter. Ben Kay, founding partner at Pablo, stated: "This campaign is unapologetically hard hitting as I don’t think there is any other way to tell the story about MND and the devastation it causes. Everyone at Pablo has been both humbled and truly inspired by all those involved from the MND community." Reflecting on their overarching creative vision, ECDs Ray Shaughnessy and Dan Norris noted that their goal was to honour the dignity of those affected while refusing to sugarcoat the disease’s progression: "Our approach to the brief was to be both tender and visceral in a truthful way." Photographer Emma Hardy shared her deep emotional response to working with the participants: "I have never—until now—encountered such courage, grace, humour, spirit and brilliance as shown by Tahira, Lorraine and Steve. I wanted to howl for them and their families—everyone so brave and dignified—but more than that, I was inspired and uplifted by their incredible generosity and trust. May a cure be found soon for this dreadful disease." Implications for MND Awareness and Charity Advertising The launch of Life Stripped Away marks a significant pivot in how health charities and creative agencies approach degenerative conditions. By rejecting sanitized portrayals of illness, Pablo and the MND Association have set a new benchmark for advocacy campaigns that prioritize raw truth over comforting narratives. 1. Redefining Empathy Through Radical Honesty Traditional charity campaigns often rely on distant sympathy or clinical detachment. Life Stripped Away subverts this by forcing audiences into an uncomfortable, highly intimate confrontation with loss. By incorporating visceral details—such as Jackson’s need for suction equipment and the frustration of censored vocabulary—the campaign bridges the empathy gap, making the intangible terrors of MND immediately palpable to the general public. 2. Amplifying Lived Experience and Agency A critical element of the campaign is the active participation of Jaki Jackson, Lorraine Redmond, Tahira Chaudhry, and Steve Williams not merely as subjects of pity, but as narrators of their own stories. Through tools like voice-banking, individuals who have lost their natural speech retain their authority and voice, empowering patients to speak directly to society on their own terms. 3. Raising the Bar for Healthcare Communications As public fatigue toward traditional advertising grows, campaigns like Life Stripped Away demonstrate the power of high-end artistic craftsmanship—combining award-winning directing, surrealist visual metaphor, and world-class post-production—to command attention for critical social and health issues. Ultimately, the campaign serves as a powerful call to action, reminding society of the urgent need for continued research, funding, and compassion in the fight against Motor Neurone Disease. Post navigation The Lean Agency Revolution: How BaD Mktg is Dismantling Traditional Holding Company Models with Proprietary AI The Great Agency Realignment: How Publicis, Omnicom, and WPP are Redefining the Pitch Economy
