Most people know that people with Parkinson’s disease shake. That’s not the whole story. 7 out of 10 French people are unable to identify its most disabling motor symptoms – movements that become painfully slow until the body completely locks up. In France, more than 270,000 people live with Parkinson’s disease, and thousands of new cases are diagnosed each year. Yet it’s a disease that is largely misunderstood by the general public and one in 50 people will be affected by it during their lifetime.

For this year’s World Parkinson’s Day, France Parkinson and TBWA\Paris launched an awareness campaign on April 13 to confront public perception and reveal the true reality of the disease. A reminder of the urgent need to support research.

“Parkinson’s disease is not just about tremors. It is a condition that can make you feel as though your own body has become a prison,” the association noted.

The campaign shows what patients live through every day – the gradual, irreversible feeling of being trapped inside one’s own body a silent, progressive confinement. Behind the familiar image of trembling lies a severe neurodegenerative disease that profoundly impact daily life.

At the heart of the campaign and its hero film is a powerful image – a body caught in a latex material that slowly tightens, suffocating every attempt to move. It embodies what patients experience: a body that slows, hardens, locks, and ultimately stops responding. The campaign pushes this feeling of confinement to its most extreme expression, making visible what is usually unseen., underscored by the 1964 song, Our Love, performed by Percy Faith.

The film, produced by Hiersoir and directed by Lucie Bourdeu, is running across television, cinemas and online video platforms, supported by digital out-of-home. The campaign continues across press, social media, and a nationwide radio plan with four spots. Lending her voice to both the film and radio is Leïla Slimani, a committed ambassador since 2024, transforming the campaign into a powerful and personal call to action.

 
Credits:
Client: France Parkinson
Client Leads: Aurélie Camm Chapel, Sophie Lasbleis, Amandine Lagarde, Jean-Louis Dufloux, Maëlenn Rochois, Valentine Duriez

Creative Agency: TBWA\Paris
Agency Leads: Jonathan Serog, Selma Metadjer
Executive Creative Producer: Faustin Claverie
Art Director: Sébastien Guinet
Copywriter: Josselin Pacreau
Strategic Planner: Amélie Pierre
TV Producer: Anne-Claire Girard
Legal: Romane Babault, Maëva Zara

Production (Print & Film): HIERSOIR
Photographer: Jean de Blignières
Assistant Photographer: Olivier Galien
Director: Lucie Bourdeu
Producer: Anne-Cécile Jemin
Production Director: Nolwenn Grall Jaubert
Executive Producers: Juliette P. Poirier, Faustine Rose
Director of Photography: Nikita Popkov
1st Assistant Director: Mathieu Perez
2nd Assistant Director: Rose Arnold
Editor: Pierre Saunier
Colourist: Nicolas Gautier
Head of Music & Sound: Olivier Lefebvre
Music Art Director: Ferdinand Huet
Sound Director: Ambroise Cabry
Sound Designer: Max Labarthe
Sound Coordination: Mélissandre Mons