
Unless you live under a rock, you’ve seen more than a few
ice bucket challenge videos. However, just in case you somehow missed it, at the beginning of the summer the ALS association started the challenge on various social media websites to garner donations for the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease — a degenerative disease that affects motor neuron cells in the brain and spinal cord. The challenge asked participants to either donate to the ALS association to fund research into treatments and cures for the disease — or else dump a bucket of ice water over themselves for all the world to see. While more people chose to drench themselves with ice water than to donate to the organization, the program was still a definite win for ALS. The association certainly received more donations than they otherwise would have, but what is significantly more important is that the challenge informed virtually everyone on social media about the disease and programs to stop its progress. This was one of the most successful marketing campaigns for a non-profit in recent memory.