Pancreatic Cancer UK appeal features voices of Steve Jobs and other late celebrities
Pancreatic Cancer UK, a charity helping people affected by the disease, has joined forces with British comedian and broadcaster Jon Holmes to produce an emotive appeal to raise awareness about the illness.
Pancreatic Cancer UK launches new appeal with voices of late celebrities
‘Lost Voices: Help Us Break Through the Silence’ is an animated spot that features the voices of many celebrities who lost their lives to pancreatic cancer, including Alan Rickman, Sir John Hurt, Aretha Franklin, Patrick Swayze and Steve Jobs. Through a combination of humor, intrigue and facts, their voices deliver a powerful collective message to educate the public about the disease.
Airing during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, the video aims to drive donations for vital research breakthroughs that are pivotal for this common cancer, which unfortunately sees more than half of people diagnosed die within three months.
Lending her voice to the spot is actress and comedian Ruby Wax, a close friend of Alan Rickman, who sadly died from the illness in 2016.
“Unlike other charities, we simply don’t have the army of survivors around us who do so much to provide hope and inspiration to people living with other forms of cancer,” said Diana Jupp, chief executive officer of Pancreatic Cancer UK.
“Pancreatic cancer is a truly terrifying disease – more than half of people die within three months of diagnosis. Many people, understandably, find it extremely difficult to talk about the impact on themselves and their loved ones.”
The charity is supported by high-profile figures from across the creative industries whose lives have in various ways been impacted by the illness, including Rickman’s widow Rima Horton, Jehane Markham, who tragically lost her mother and husband Roger Lloyd-Pack respectively to the disease, and Olivia Williams, a pancreatic cancer survivor.
“By harnessing the lost voices of some of the extraordinarily talented celebrities who have sadly died from pancreatic cancer, we want to break through the silence,” continued Jupp.
“Through the voices of Alan Rickman, John Hurt and the many others who have helped us with this, we are speaking up on behalf of all those we have lost to demand more and demand better for everyone affected by the deadliest common cancer. Our Lost Voices campaign is the first of many innovative new ways we’ll be using to communicate the desperate need for progress on pancreatic cancer, to urge the public to help us find a cure.”
