But the coalition didn’t want a poster child. They wanted a real human. They filmed Eleanor in her tiny apartment, showing her pill organizer (now filled with vitamins) and her AA chip. The resulting campaign, “Addiction Doesn’t Retire. Neither Do We,” ran on public transit and in bingo halls. It became the most effective senior-focused prevention campaign in the state’s history.

Viral fame is isolating. Instead of throwing one survivor into the spotlight alone, create a collective. A gallery of 30 faces is more powerful than one face because it shows the scope of the issue.

Awareness campaigns can have a significant impact on society, leading to:

But there is a term for exploiting pain for views: .