Things are starting to turn the corner in terms of the pandemic with many communities looking forward to achieving herd immunity by the summer. However, with vaccination rates slowing, a Los Angeles group is looking to the final frontier to help get to that goal with a new Spock-themed outdoor campaign endorsed by the family of Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy.
A logical campaign
L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country, is collaborating with the family of the late Leonard Nimoy on a campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations and mask use. After Nimoy was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2013 he dedicated the last two years of his life to raising awareness about the progressive lung disease. His family is confident that he would be an outspoken proponent of mask use and vaccination during the COVID‐19 crisis.
“The phrase ‘live long and prosper’ spreads a message that my dad strongly believed in – not only for a long and healthy life, but it also represents peace, tolerance, diversity and unity. This project really is a continuation of his mission on lung health,” said Julie Nimoy, the actor’s daughter who also runs the Los Angeles-based Remembering Leonard Nimoy with her husband David Knight. “We are so grateful that L.A. Care was eager to work with us, and their team developed a wonderful concept that will capture attention and ensure the message is seen .”
The new campaign will be seen outdoor on billboards and on social media featuring a masked individual and will include a message encouraging people to get vaccinated. It is being run with the generous permission of ViacomCBS.
“Dare I say, it was the logical thing to do. We were honored to be approached by the Nimoy family after they saw our billboards showing masked individuals,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “Leonard Nimoy and the beloved phrase ‘Live Long and Prosper’ will forever hold a place in our hearts, and we know they can help us get out the word about some very important steps that will help us all protect ourselves and our loved ones.”
In addition to the billboard campaign, the Live Long and Prosper message will be used for a social media campaign that will continue at least until the end of the year. Digital posters with the same design will be available for printing.
Help protect yourself and others from #COVID19. #GetVaccinated and #WearAMask to help slow the spread of COVID-19 so that we may all #LiveLongandProsper. 🖖🏽 https://t.co/Kzr7HRVgvt @StarTrek #ItsTheLogicalThingToDo #SaveHumanityfromCOVID pic.twitter.com/BEFmwyjrNT
— L.A. Care Health Plan (@LACareHealth) May 10, 2021
The campaign has also been picked up by the local news; here’s a clip from KABC.
For more, visit LACare.org.
The whole film industry should be using existing resources along these lines.
Was just saying to my wife this morning that every film studio with an existing movie where somebody like Billy Dee Williams [NIGHTHAWKS] or Judi Dench [SKYFALL] is yelling, ‘TAKE THE SHOT’ or ‘take the bloody shot’ or somebody in TOP GUN saying, “take the shot” or “I’m taking the shot” should be repurposing those moments into a single big PSA or a whole series of small ones, a message designed to convey urgency while also playing on good in-head movie memories. (I think Rene Russo and/or Eastwood also have a version of this IN THE LINE OF FIRE.)
Helluva idea there. That would work with the NBA and NHL as well. LeBron or Stef taking the shot, for the win!
I don’t know about hockey, you could wind up with “slap shot goes wide” and alienate potential vaccine recipients!
Slap shot goes wide…..get it in the ass!
There’s probably a fetish for that somewhere.
It would probably be a waste of time. For the most part, the people refusing to get the vaccine are never going to listen to another Media Darling trying to tell them what to do, especially a Hollywood Celebrity (of whom they have an extremely low opinion, “Hollyweird” and all that.) I honestly think they aren’t going to listen to anyone on the matter, but if they would Hollywood would be way down the list.
I got vaccinated in Jan/Feb (Pfizer) but I know too many people who say ‘hell, no.’.
If Rene Russo tells me to “get the shot,” I will — and I’ve already had mine.
I got fully vaccinated just yesterday in L.A.! It feels SO good!! Just get vaccinated people. The faster we all do it, the faster we get to more normalcy again.
Awesome. Let’s cross the finish line on this. I miss what used to pass for normal.
VERY COOL!
Sorry, but I can’t imagine this silly campaign convincing a single person to get vaccinated.
I live in Israel where 90% of ages 16+ are vaccinated or recovered (already since a couple of months ago). For the majority of adults it was a no-brainer, and 10% remain stubbornly stupid or ignorant, but for the ‘undecided’ middle, especially people below 30, incentives definitely worked. Anything from free food for getting vaccinated to requiring vaccination for entrance into sporting events, concerts, indoor seating at restaurants, pubs and cafes, and not requiring vaccinated people to quarantine after contact with sick people or after returning from abroad. Simple public relations campaigns were largely a waste of time. The governor of Ohio is on the right track, I think, with his big lottery giveaway idea. The US is now at, or approaching, the point at which resistance is being encountered, i.e., demand is lower than supply, and these kinds of steps have to be considered.
Yeah, I kind of resented having gotten it so early considering all the free pizza and beer that was given out later.
Yes, I’m joking. Mostly. :-)
Somehow, reading that reminds me of the two decades decades I spent stupidly waiting for the government to realize anybody willing to get a vasectomy should get it for free as a thank you. Never realized that you could get one at PP for next-to-nothing the whole time, not till I was practically working next door to one in my late 30s. Of course, it wound up they had some defective tools and didn’t switch over to a fresh good set for a long time that evening, so what should have been a fast somewhat easy procedure wound up being nearly an hour of agony. Nowhere near as painful as gallstone attacks, but still memorably awful.
I should have just skipped my last trip to Disney land and paid for a regular one back when I was 20.
Um, yeah, not *quite* the same thing, but yeah.
Yeah, unfortunately we still have some folks here who are expecting the infrastructure bill to make our telegraph system and the pony express the envy of the world. Agreed that the Ohio lottery idea has merit. There’s the negative enticement you pointed out, that in at least some instances in your homeland you can’t reengage in society without proving you’re vaccinated. The same people here wanting that world class telegraph system are also screaming that that’s communism. So there’s that….
Spock: “Anti-vaxxers are highly illogical.”
Bones: “Dammit! I’m a doctor not a salesman! Take the shot!”
Picard: “Take the vaccine. Engage!”
Ok, that last one was lame. How would Star Trek characters tell people to get vaccinated?
I think Kirk would hold the guy down. Janeway probably would too.
Quark would let Sisko use his bar as a vaccination centre and then sell stuff to people.
Seven of Nine Resistance to get the shot is Futile.
I think if we ALL want to go to conventions again, vaccination may be a necessary requirement to attend. (I know, how does one prove it..) I’m Canadian. I received my first jab a month ago. Canada has been piss poor at vaccine procurement and getting it in arms. I took the AstraZeneca vaccine, (which wasn’t approved for use in the US) It does a have a very small risk of blood clots and Canada has paused using AZ as a first shot. This has put getting my second shot a bit tricky. I will either get my 2nd dose or have to mix vaccines. I’m a little miffed, actually. Canadians were told to take the 1st vaccine offered to them. I preferred the Pfizer shot but was a good citizen and took my AZ shot. Had I waited two weeks? I’d have gotten a Pfizer shot. I understand the risks. I’d like my 2nd shot of AZ. The risk of a blood clot is even LOWER than your 1st shot. I’m 57 and in good health. Let me decide. My significant other is an American. We maintain a long distance relationship. We have for 9 years. Both of us are self employed and are able to travel to see each other. With the land border closed, we haven’t seen each other, in person, in 15 months…
It’s not hard to prove. In Israel at least you go to a central website, apply, they check your status with your HMO, and email you a personal QR code to show on your phone or print out.
Canada’s health system is even more centralized; they shouldn’t have a hard time doing this.
I’m Canadian as well, was just waiting for them to run out of AstraZeneca and bring in Moderna / Pfizer.
My worry is that as COVID is a coronavirus the effectiveness over time will drop, I worry authorities will use this as an excuse to maintain lock downs forever even though you can afford some infections as long as they are low risk and isolated by herd immunity.
Thank goodness for Texas and the Southern States showing that we can return to normal through vaccination and herd immunity.
You might want to be careful with what you’re peddling there. Coronavirus vaccines will likely become a component of the annual flu shot to address long term effectiveness against variants.. Indefinite lockdown speculations are just a touch paranoid.
Texas, and any other state where the “hoax/Ignore it” theories have held sway have been a main driver in why it took so long to gain some semblance of control of the situation in the US, and those states have consistency led in low rates of vaccinations. That the US as a whole is getting a handle on the situation is in spite of Texas and the southern states, not because of them.
I disagree. The Texas’ and Florida’s of the country are why things have gotten better. The CA’s and NY’s are the reason things have dragged. However, thanks to the recall he will soon have to fight, Gov Newsom has been loosening up restrictions including, it seems, losing the bulk of the mask restrictions and recommendations starting June 15. Looking forward to reading more specifics about that. Hoping they will be ultra loose. It could be an incentive for more people to get the vaccine.
Disagree all you like. I’ll leave it at that, least the mods get upset.
That’s a lie. California has the lowest infection rates in America and Texas has one of the highest.
Canada as a whole has been doing well, it’s the provinces doling the vaccines out that has been a real problem.
Good cause. Ugly billboard. Not even student level work. Ugh.
These campaigns have good intentions but they really do nothing to convince those who are reluctant to get the vax. There are two main reasons people are not getting it.
One: There is a fear that the thing was approved too soon without enough trials. All the billboards in the world aren’t going to do anything about that. But the good news is it is possible to convince those folks with facts if people are willing to show them.
But from my point of view the bigger hurdle is the next reason. That nothing changes after taking the vaccine. Many are of the opinion of ‘why should I get it if I still have to mask and socially distance?’ The latest poll shows that 18% of the population feel this way. I actually suspect it’s higher. This is easily fixed by announcing that the vaccinated are no longer required to wear masks, as the science and data show they safely can. These vaccines are showing themselves to be extremely effective even against the variants that have showed up. Our current president sure doesn’t help when he is masked up alone outside even after being fully vaccinated.
Then there is the very miniscule number of anti-vaxxers. But their numbers are insignificant to make a real difference.
I can’t add anything else to the conversation that hasn’t already been said other than… I’m getting my haircut, this Saturday, for the first time since February 2020! Thank you Moderna vaccine! I’m so excited!!!!
Pricless. I am already vaccinated.
.. true herd immunity is not done with a vaccine. Herd immunity is what they are now admitting we should have done in the first place and why states that have fully reopen that that is exactly what is happening. Cases and hospitalizations have dropped to null. And why are they constantly pushing a vaccine for a little virus that still has a 99.9% recovery rate according to the WHO and CDC? It served its purpose, the election is over. They are dragging it out so y’all won’t accept their real intent