In honor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) 75th anniversary in 2025, we launched a campaign to reflect on our legacy, celebrate our progress, and look ahead to the future. At the heart of this campaign was a public service announcement (PSA) designed to showcase the impact MDA has made over the past 75 years and the momentum driving us forward. The goal was to inform and inspire the public by highlighting the organization’s milestones in research, care, and advocacy for the neuromuscular disease community. Most importantly, the PSA was created to honor and uplift the people and families who have shaped MDA’s journey and continue to fuel our mission.
Overall, the 75th anniversary campaign is not just a celebration, it’s a strategic effort to deepen our existing relationships, expand our reach, and strengthen support for MDA’s mission. This milestone gives us a unique platform to reintroduce MDA to both our established supporters and new audiences, helping them see the lasting impact of MDA’s mission and inviting them to be a part of its future.
To bring this PSA to life, our goal was to encapsulate the heart of MDA’s 75th anniversary campaign, honoring our legacy, spotlighting our impact, and looking toward a future filled with continued progress and empowerment for the neuromuscular community.
From the outset, we knew the biggest challenge would be scale: how do you condense 75 years of meaningful work into just 60, 30, and 15 seconds? Our strategy focused on creating a visual and emotional narrative that could quickly convey the evolution and momentum of MDA’s mission.
We made a deliberate creative choice to open the PSA in black and white, gradually transitioning into full color. This transition was symbolic to represent our rich history and foundational impact, while the move to color symbolizes the progress we’ve made and the dynamic future we’re building. This creative choice also aligned with upcoming campaign assets and served as a preview of the deeper content we planned to explore throughout the campaign.
The PSA became the centerpiece of our “Telling Our Story” video series and hero video designed not just to inform, but to inspire. More than a recap, it serves as an anthem for the 75th, a rallying cry that reflects both our legacy and the momentum ahead. It was crafted to connect emotionally and remind audiences of the profound impact MDA has had and continues to have on the lives of individuals and families living with neuromuscular diseases.
We paired archival footage with present-day visuals, grounding the story in real people and real progress. We chose key moments that exemplify our mission pillars: research, advocacy, care, and community. Every scene was carefully selected to show how far we’ve come from our breakthroughs to today’s cutting-edge research, expanded Care Centers, and major policy wins.
In addition to the PSA, we developed a broader video storytelling strategy. This included a series of short videos that spotlight each mission pillar individually, giving audiences a deeper understanding of our impact. We also created a profile video series highlighting community members featured in the PSA, called the people behind the PSA. These follow-up videos allow us to expand on individual stories throughout the year, keeping the content fresh and offering multiple engagement points for supporters.
One of our biggest challenges was balancing emotional storytelling with strategic messaging ensuring that every second of each version (60, 30, and 15 seconds) carried both heart and clarity. By focusing on community and purpose, we were able to create a powerful message kicking off the 75th year.
Together, these efforts form a comprehensive storytelling arc that celebrates our community, reinforces our mission, and invites audiences to be part of MDA’s future.
The MDA 75th Anniversary PSA campaign exemplified the power of mission-driven marketing to achieve our objectives. Our goal was: to honor MDA’s historic legacy while expanding awareness and engagement across traditional and digital platforms.
As of May 2025, the campaign generated 74,481 placements, 134.8 million impressions, and $4.35 million in ad value representing a 92% increase in reach and 67% growth in value year-over-year. Nearly half of April and May’s ad value stemmed directly from the PSA. Streaming partner Philo further amplified visibility with 6.2 million impressions and nearly $200K in digital ad value. On radio, a strategy emphasizing longer spots and major-market penetration yielded 12.1 million impressions in May, including strong pick-up in Houston, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and San Francisco, driving a 14% month-over-month increase in value.
June also captured the success of the 75th Anniversary social media campaign, which drove 233K impressions and $65.7K in value. In July, TV/radio ad value increased 4% to $416.5K, powered by 12,908 placements and 9.9M impressions, with Legacy.Impact.Momentum. accounting for 55% of total ad value. Radio placements in 15 of the top 20 markets added $229.8K in value and 12.8M impressions, further extending reach.
Beyond the numbers, the campaign’s success stemmed from storytelling that elevated MDA community voices. By putting individuals and families at the center, the campaign reinforced both the emotional and informational impact of our mission.
