Titled “In The Spotlight,” this PSA for The Stuttering Association for The Young (SAY) from BBDO New York portrays the emotional weight on young people living with a stutter to ignite a conversation and bring awareness to this common yet stigmatized speech disorder.

Directed by Alex Gorosh of Hungry Man, the film hyperbolizes what it feels like for youth who stutter while delivering ordinary conversation–as if they are literally on stage, in the spotlight. It aims to educate viewers on how to treat their peers who stutter, stressing empathy and patience, just in time for the upcoming school year.

The pro-bono partnership with BBDO NY and SAY was actually inspired by the agency’s own jr. copywriter, Aaron Marshall who shared his experience of growing up with a stutter. For example, there were times he would order something at a restaurant that he did not want, just to avoid stuttering.

Credits

Client The Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY) Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chief creative officer, worldwide; Lance Vining, Gary Toit, VPs, creative directors; Aaron Marshall, copywriter; Whitney Husnik, producer; Julia Millison, music producer; Dexter Blumenthal, strategy director; Isabel Rendon, strategist; Lucy Bennett, influencer lead; Chris Daniele, director of digital analytics. Production Company Hungry Man Alex Gorosh, director; Sherra Fermino, producer; Caleb Dewart, Mino Jarjoura, Dan Duffy, Meredith Bergman, exec producers; Eric Ulbrich, DP; Paul McConnell, production designer. VFX & Color The Mill Anastasia Von Rahl, managing director; Warwick Hewett, sr. producer; Mike Cimino, production coordinator; John Leonti, creative director & shoot supervisor; Chris “Badger” Knight, 2D lead artist; Freddy Parra, 3D lead artist; Stephen Paragone, 2D artist; Lalida Karnjanasirirat, Amit Patil, C Dinesh Reddy, Anthony Ignatius Dsouza, 3D artists; Vinamra Ramniranjan Bhartia, Utkarsha Chittaranjan Wairkar, production support; Paul Yacono, colorist; Denise Brown, sr. color producer; Lindsey Orlando, production coordinator, color; Gemma Parr, Logan Highlen, color assists. Audio Post Lime Studios Zac Fisher, audio mixer; Michael Baran, audio assistant; Kayla Phunnglan, sr. producer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer. Music Walker Chris Keye, composer; Jendayi Bonds, associate producer.

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