Alzheimer’s Society ad on mother dying ‘again and again’ cleared despite being accused of causing ‘unjustifiable distress’
A dementia ad which detailed how a woman affected by Alzheimer’s disease died “again, again and again” received 235 complaints by viewers.
The Alzheimer’s Society ads were broadcast on both TV and radio in March and April, but some viewers claimed they caused “unjustifiable distress” and were irresponsible.
The ad featured a man at his mother’s wake describing how dementia eventually made her forget even the basics, including his name.
The ads have been cleared of causing ‘unjustifiable distress’. Pic: PA
“Mum first died on the 12th of May 2019 when she couldn’t work out how to prepare her legendary roast any more,” he said.
“The style icon of the Covington estate. Mum died as a fashionista the day she couldn’t get dressed into her colourful outfits.”
He continued: “She died as the queen of Christmas when she refused to have dinner with the family. She died again when she asked me, her son, what my name was.
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“She died as dad’s rock after 52 years of marriage the day she looked straight through him.
“On the 10th of March 2024, mum died a final time, surrounded by her family.”
The ad switched between scenes of the woman’s past life. Pic: PA
A voice-over then said: “With dementia, you don’t just die once. You die again and again and again. Which is why at Alzheimer’s Society we’ll be with you again and again and again.”
Viewers complained that the ads were excessively distressing, offensive and irresponsible.
However, the ads have now been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as they found that “any distress caused was justified by the ads’ messages”.
The Alzheimer’s Society said it was “conscious from the outset that a campaign about the realities of dementia would be sensitive and potentially challenging for some audiences” and it approached the campaign with due care.
The charity said the script was written by a person who had lost their father to dementia 18 months previously “for whom the long goodbye rang true”.
Ad clearance agency Clearcast said they understood the ads could be upsetting but did not believe they were irresponsible or exploitative.
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When approving the ads, they took into consideration that the Alzheimer’s Society was an authority on the issue, and provided support for people living with Alzheimer’s as well as investing in research into the disease.
The ASA said the ads, and particularly the references to death, could cause a significant emotional impact with a wider audience.
The ASA said: “We acknowledged that the ads, and particularly the references to dying ‘again and again and again’ were likely to cause potentially significant distress to some people with Alzheimer’s, particularly to those who had recently been diagnosed.
“However, we considered that the ads presented an accurate and sensitively delivered portrayal of the reality of the disease.”
It added: “Overall, we considered that any distress caused was justified by the ads’ messages.
“For the reasons set out above we concluded that the ads were not irresponsible, did not cause serious or widespread offence, and did not cause unjustifiable distress.”
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
The Salt Path author Raynor Winn’s fourth book has been delayed by her publisher.
It comes amid claims that the author lied about her story in her hit first book. Winn previously described the claims as “highly misleading” and called suggestions that her husband had Moth made up his illness “utterly vile”.
In a statement, Penguin Michael Joseph, said it had delayed the publication of Winn’s latest book On Winter Hill – which had been set for release 23 October.
The publisher said the decision had been made in light of “recent events, in particular intrusive conjecture around Moth’s health”, which it said had caused “considerable distress” to the author and her family.
“It is our priority to support the author at this time,” the publisher said.
“With this in mind, Penguin Michael Joseph, together with the author, has made the decision to delay the publication of On Winter Hill from this October.”
A new release date will be announced in due course, the publisher added.
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Winn’s first book, released in 2018, detailed the journey she and husband took along the South West Coast Path – familiarly known as The Salt Path – after they lost their family farm and Moth received a terminal health diagnosis of Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD).
But a report in The Observer disputed key aspects of the 2018 “true” story – which was recently turned into a film starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson.
Raynor and husband Moth (centre) with actors Jason Isaacs (L) and Gillian Anderson (R). Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
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As part of the article, published last weekend, The Observer claimed to have spoken to experts who were “sceptical” about elements of Moth’s terminal diagnosis, such as a “lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them”.
In the ensuing controversy, PSPA, a charity that supports people with CBD, cut ties with the couple.
The Observer article also claimed the portrayal of a failed investment in a friend’s business wasn’t true, but said the couple – whose names are Sally and Tim Walker – lost their home after Raynor Winn embezzled money from her employer and had to borrow to pay it back and avoid police action.
Anderson played Winn in a movie about the couple’s journey. Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
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It also said that, rather than being homeless, the couple had owned a house in France since 2007.
Winn’s statement said the dispute with her employer wasn’t the reason the couple lost their home – but admitted she may have made “mistakes” while in the job.
“For me it was a pressured time,” she wrote. “It was also a time when mistakes were being made in the business. Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry.”
She admitted being questioned by police but said she wasn’t charged.
The author also said accusations that Moth lied about having CBD/CBS were false and had “emotionally devastated” him.
“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty, that this is the most unbearable of the allegations,” Winn wrote on her website.
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