How people with ALS are shaping tech: HONOR the Challenger

Remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? In 2014, the challenge inspired throngs to dump iced water on their heads and donate to global ALS associations, bringing attention to the sensation of losing muscular control. The loss of muscular function is debilitating, robbing people with ALS
of the physical ability to achieve goals, causing them to feel like they’re trapped in their own minds. Minds that are as innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial as any able-bodied person.

10 years on, technology is enabling people with ALS in previously unimaginable ways, allowing them to achieve goals and impact the world around them in remarkably. Honor the Challenger is a mass campaign for Honor with a TV commercial that passes the microphone to people with
ALS, with HONOR as an enabler of Challenger potential. The campaign was a clarion call for humanity to innovate for all, featuring ALS Challengers, Associations, and technology experts.

We received HONOR's brief during one of the most competitive seasons for marketing – the Olympics, and there was opportunity to liken the spirit of people with ALS to that of sportspeople.

The campaign succeeded significantly at engaging audiences with tangible impact, tested by BBC StoryWorks’ award-winning Science of Engagement study.

During the Olympics season of 2024, we were challenged to help our client:
- Raise awareness for ALS associations and people with ALS globally using sports as a gateway
- Delicately showcase HONOR’s research into non-invasive Brain Computer Interfaces
- Highlight HONOR’s commitment to empowering ALS patients with multimodal and AI technology
- Showcase HONOR’s eye-tracking technology and text-to-speech technology embedded within a new HONOR phone

Honor had identified an ALS Challenger, Bernard Muller, to feature in this video. Our job was to tell this delicate story in a way that would resonate with masses authentically, alongside our client’s own #HONORtheChallenger campaign.

Challenges
Only 2% of people with disabilities feel like they’ve been accurately represented in media.
At the point of production, our lead contributor, Bernard Muller had lost the ability to speak and move most of his body. We were challenged to consider creative storytelling that was true to his cheeky entrepreneurial personality, and his way of living. So he could be proud of how he'd been
portrayed.

This included factoring time for Bernard to share his feedback. He uses exclusively text through eye-tracking tech and eye-movements to communicate.

We wanted to show a true home. A place seeing Bernard through all challenges and emotions. Integrating family members as a part of his life rather than the invisible hands. This is some of how we portrayed a deep, full representation of Bernard’s life that represented him fully and fairly, and for others to access in finding a safe space in the story.

Results
In total, across BBC’s TV and Digital platforms, we garnered 552.9 Million impacts across our target markets. The campaign succeeded significantly at engaging audiences in just 41 days, achieving one of the most coveted hallmarks of brand awareness: trust.
- 85% of audiences surveyed said they trusted the messaging in the advertisement - showing we’d tackled the tricky problem of getting audiences to trust authenticity of brand stories.
- As much as 72% surveyed agree with HONOR’s campaign takeaway of improving lives through advanced AI technology
- 79% said they would talk to others about it - achieving our objective of raising awareness, potentially triggering a ripple effect of change. Projecting this against our impacts, it could be implied that up to 436,791,000 might talk to others about the video.
- 94% of the surveyed had desire to engage with content
- Social engagement doubled targets at 17.6M imps and over 34k organic engagements, with our unique approach to assets that simulated-tracking technology.

The most meaningful result of our campaign is what it meant to Bernard Muller: “ This endeavour is not just about raising awareness but also about showcasing the resilience and creativity that can thrive despite adversity."