Mothers of children with special needs are much less likely to see families like their own represented on television. Hallmark’s Mother’s Day campaign sought to change that by telling a more inclusive story. This story follows a mother-daughter relationship through time, told from the perspective of a daughter with Down Syndrome. Our spot was produced with help from the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City, whose generous input made sure our choices were authentic and resonant within the Downs community.

This project is:
Client-commissioned

Agency
180LA

Client URL
https://www.hallmark.com/

My Role in This Project
As the copywriter on this project, I worked in closely with our production partners and the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City to cast and script an authentic, inclusive story for Hallmark's Mother's Day campaign.

Our story is told from the perspective of a daughter with Down Syndrome through the years. Casting was both a challenge, and and inspiration. We needed to find actors with Down Syndrome who could play our lead through the years, passing as a single person over time. In the end, we cast five different actors to play our lead who flew in from all around the United States – from a three month old baby, to twenty-five year old actor.

On set, we worked with our actors, their parents, and our production partners to build scenes that felt moving and authentic. It was a close knit, collaborative crew, and one of the most joyful on-set experiences most of us have had the privilege to be a part of. Back in Los Angeles, I oversaw our in-house edit, music supervision, and worked with our lead actor to deliver a voiceover performance we all felt proud of.