Breathless Ballad Challenge: Raising Awareness of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Through the Power of Song (Boehringer Ingelheim and Ogilvy Health)
The most common interstitial lung disease (ILD) is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Marked by scarring and inflammation, IPF affects 200,000 patients in the U.S. However, misdiagnosis rates remain high because its symptoms are easily confused for other conditions.
To help increase awareness, Boehringer Ingelheim and Ogilvy launched “The Breathless Ballad Challenge,” a crowdsourced musical tribute championed by Yankees legend and Latin Grammy-nominated musician Bernie Williams, who lost his father to IPF in 2001. He released the instrumental track “Para Don Berna” in his dad’s memory.
Participants submitted lyrics that could be paired with the song. The track was sung by Jordin Sparks. The winning lyrics honored writer David DePinho’s mother and were selected based on both online votes and a celebrity judging panel that included Queen Latifah and Arthur Hanlon.
In December 2021, Williams and Sparks performed the song on Good Morning America’s live broadcast and social channels, raising awareness nationally.
