Print

Print


The Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that have been discussed on the
Parkinson List over the past few months are finally available for any
Parkinson's disease support group in the United States.

Because of a generous grant received from Axon Instruments, Inc., the
Parkinson Coalition of Houston is pleased to announce that the PSAs, produced
pro bono by McCann-Erickson Southwest, have received the needed funding to
make the tapes available for use outside Houston. McCann-Erickson is an
international advertising agency that donated time and talent producing the
PSAs. Axon Instruments, Inc. who produce laboratory instruments and software
for the neurosciences, provided the funds that made it possible for the PSAs
to be used by the Parkinson community nationally.

For those not familiar with this project, thanks to a benefit held in Houston
honoring Muhammad Ali and using some of the funds raised at that event, a
Houston minority outreach program was implemented. Three PSAs were created for
Houston and have been airing on nine different TV stations with excellent
results. There are two story lines featuring Houston Parkinsonians. One shows
a man trying to tie his "Shoe" and the other is about a man who played a
guitar and is now living in "Slow Motion". The "Shoe" is available in English
and Spanish. "Slow Motion" is available in English only. Each PSA lasts 30
seconds. It is estimated that the total charge for the production of the PSAs
for a regular commercial account would have been approximately $160,000. The
Parkinson Coalition paid "hard costs" of $18,930.00, the rest was time and
talent donated by McCann-Erickson.

The cost that local organizations will have to bear if they wish to obtain the
PSAs for use in their area are: editing costs to add the organization name and
phone number, a charge for each broadcast quality tape, and shipping costs.

By bundling requests, the cost of adding your local organization name and
phone number on the PSAs will be $100 per story line (30 second segment) or
$300 for all three 30 second segments. There is an additional charge of $35
for each broadcast quality tape produced for distribution to your local
stations. Shipping charges are additional. for example: one copy of the "Shoe"
would be $135 plus shipping, two copies would be $170.

Call Anne Martin at 713-874-1010 for more information or to order the tapes.

The Parkinson Coalition of Houston is pleased to provide this service to the
Parkinson community and is grateful to McCann-Erickson and Axon Instruments,
Inc. for their support of this project.

The Parkinson Coalition of Houston
1475 West Gray, # 175
Houston, TX 77019