A second look at autism

"It's not always what you think". Those are the words with which the CAP48 awareness campaign created by AIR begins. From the very first seconds, some will recognise the images of an ad from the 2000s that went around the world and left no one indifferent. But this time, the ad is clearly intended to draw the public's attention to a little-known reality.

A child and his father are shopping in a supermarket. The child sees the candy racks... and the screaming begins. A common scene that many of us have already experienced or observed. And yet, it's not always what you think. Through a voice-over, AIR has hijacked this emblematic ad and turned the "enfant terrible" into a child with autism. What used to look like an annoyed father is now a parent in distress. Autism affects one in 66 children in Belgium. But behind every child is a family also affected in one way or another by this diagnosis. Therefore, CAP48 and Air decided it was time for the public to learn more about severe cases of autism.

Eric Hollander, founder and creative chairman at Air, on the new campaign "When there is no budget to make campaigns, you need guts. So we decided to turn a film, that went around the world 20 years ago, into something new."