ABOUT

Motor Neurone Disease is brutal disease and New Zealand has one of the world’s highest mortality rates from it. Despite this, it’s a disease that has low levels of awareness and understanding compared to other illnesses. Awareness and public profile is important because they have a big impact on the access to funding and support a charity, like MND NZ, can get. To do this, we needed to demonstrate the impact MND has on people in a relatable way. The solution was to target the 600,000+ New Zealanders who use TradeMe (New Zealand’s equivalent of eBay) every day to buy and sell second-hand goods. David's Unusables hijacked this online marketplace to educate New Zealanders on Motor Neurone Disease. David, a man living with MND, sold his unusable belongings in a digital timeline reflective of his deterioration – starting with bigger items like bicycles and fishing rods, through to simple everyday items like cutlery and furniture as his condition declined. Each listing told of his personal connection to the item, and revealed the devastating, symptomatic reasons it had become unusable to him. By doing so, the campaign turned online auctions into an education resource and generated vital donations at the same time. The campaign reached over 1.5 million New Zealanders (total population 5.52 million) and played a pivotal role in raising the profile of MND.