The advertising agency's proprietary research found that 72% of Americans have heard or used the word "special" as an insult or put-down. In fact, people have used "special" as a euphemism for decades, giving it a negative charge as it pertains to people with disabilities. According to the Oxford dictionary, however, "special" means better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual. And in sports, it's often used to describe once-in-a-lifetime athletes or legacy moments. We saw an opportunity to turn "special" into a quality everyone aspires to be called. Special Olympics athletes, who have intellectual disabilities like down syndrome and autism, do amazing things every day around the world. They break stereotypes, accomplish things they were told they'd never be able to do, and inspire others to become more inclusive. Our goal was to start a movement through earned media and organic support to reclaim the true meaning of "special."

On Giving Tuesday, we surprised two Special Olympics athletes with billboards in NYC, where they were the faces of our "Yeah, I am Special" campaign, aimed at ending stigmas around the word “special” as related to people with intellectual disabilities. We also launched an impactful social film, voiced by sports announcer Stephen A. Smith, showcasing the power of the word “special” in sports. On the shoppable billboards, the Special Olympics athletes debuted limited-edition “Special” sweatshirts that declare, "Special: Exceptionally great. Important. Unique. Special is something to strive for. The ultimate compliment. A word that we can all hope to be called. Not for the things that we cannot do. But for all of the things that we can."

We sent sweatshirts to Special Olympics ambassadors and professional athletes, like NBA All-Star Damian Lillard, to help organically ignite passion on social, and kickstart a movement around the true meaning of “special.”

According to our research, 72% of Americans have used or heard “special” as an insult or put-down; yet “special” is often used in pro sports to describe extraordinary players, teams, and moments. We saw an opportunity to shift the stigma around “special” and reclaim it for what it truly means for Special OIympics athletes with intellectual disabilities.

One of our goals was to engage younger millennials and Gen Z – our future volunteers and Special Olympics ambassadors – by leveraging the influence of popular professional athletes, like Damian Lillard and Dale Moss, wearing the “Special” sweatshirt, and by including the iconic voiceover from Stephen A. Smith in our social film. We sent sweatshirts to Special Olympics ambassadors, celebrities and media, confident they’d be inspired to wear the sweatshirt and post on social to help ignite our movement, and we engaged national media, disability trade press, sports journalists and advertising reporters.

We launched on Giving Tuesday - a big donation day for nonprofits. The shoppable billboards, with QR codes leading to the microsite imspecial.org, ran for two weeks in Times Square. The campaign site featured the launch film; links to purchase the limited-edition “Special” sweatshirt; and bios on our campaign stars - Madi “Maddog” Madory, a 28-year-old powerlifting dynamo with down syndrome who can deadlift 1.5 times her bodyweight; and Joshua Olds, a 17-year-old triathlete with autism, who has conquered 17 triathlons.

The launch film was also posted on Special Olympics’ international social channels. We sent sweatshirts to Special Olympics ambassadors and celebrities, like NBA All-Star Damian Lillard, hoping they’d be inspired to wear the sweatshirt and post on social media to help ignite our movement, and they did.

While the sweatshirts were only available in the U.S., we are working on a global expansion aimed at continuing our momentum.

- Within 24 hours, people worldwide wanted to wear “special” on their chest, with requests coming in across all social platforms

- We gained organic support from dozens of celebrities and influencers, including NBA All-Star Damian Lillard, Atlanta Falcons’ Mack Hollins, Olympians Gaby Dabrowski and Alia Atkinson, Texan Houstons’ Jared Wayne and Dare Ogunbowale, and Vikings’ Dalton Risner; former NFL players Drew Brees and Dale Moss; WWE’s Drew McIntyre; ESPN host Victoria Arlen; NBA’s Tristan Thompson; Chris Nikic, the first Adidas-sponsored athlete with Down syndrome; actress Melissa McCarthy, American Author Katherine Schwarzenegger, and more

- Media Coverage Impressions: 354 Million

- $665K Earned Media Equivalency

- Social Media Awareness: 114 Million Impressions in the first 10 days

- NYC Billboards: 8.7 Million Impressions

- Special Olympics Merchandise Sales Quadrupled Year-Over-Year

- First Batch of Limited-Edition Sweatshirts SOLD OUT in One Week