An Inspirational Experience for My Cousin Hayley

June 29 marked the 1996 start of the world’s most prestigious annual cycling race, the Tour de France. Among the field of world class athletes was a 25 year-old Texas native by the name of Lance Armstrong, who had recently broke into the top-five rankings of cyclists worldwide. At the time, Armstrong was coming off his second straight victory in the Tour DuPont; a U.S. race held between 1991 and 1996, similar in nature to the Tour de France. Although this looked promising, teammates of Armstrong and others close to him described his finish-line-demeanor as unusual, citing that he appeared far more exhausted than normal. Nevertheless, Armstrong began the Tour as expected, though withdrew from the race after only five stages. The early departure was dismissed by many when reports claimed that Armstrong was taking the time off to prepare for the upcoming Summer Olympics, though some suspected otherwise.

Less than a month later, Armstrong competed for the U.S. Olympic Team in Atlanta, Georgia, though finished only 6^th in the time trial and a disappointing 12^th in the road race. Unknown by many, the cyclist had been dismissing ailment and symptoms for what he believed to be a testicle injury sustained from extensive cycling. Following the Olympics he decided to seek medical help, though was saddled with a far worse situation than he could imagine. In October of 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with stage-three testicular cancer that had already spread to his lungs and brain. Doctors estimated that he had only a 40% chance of survival, though nobody could have predicted what the next decade had in store for him.

During the next three months, Armstrong underwent multiple surgeries to remove the cancerous testicle and lesions in his brain, coupled with chemotherapy treatment. Not one to give up easily, Armstrong maintained his positive outlook and fought to beat the illness. Good news came as a surprise to many in February of the following year when he was deemed cancer-free, only five months after the diagnoses.

Over the next two years Armstrong worked hard to transform his body to its former self and founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which raises money and awareness for urological cancers while encouraging patients to fight against thier illness. Following a year of competitive training, he returned to the Tour de France in 1999 with high expectations. Not only would he go on to win, but most described his effort as ‘dominate.’ In light of his triumphant story, Armstrong became a celebrity almost overnight, and more importantly, an inspiration to people everywhere. Armstrong went on to win the next four Tours, capturing his record tying fifth-straight Tour victory in July of 2003.

While Armstrong’s monumental comeback had him perched atop the world, the story was somewhat different for a young girl in Austin, Texas. My younger cousin, Hayley Hand, had been diagnosed with leukemia nearly three months earlier on May 6 of 2003: her sixth birthday. After a year of numerous scares and intensive chemotherapy, Hayley found herself in the heart of a fight nobody deserves to face.

Meanwhile, Armstrong was busy gearing up for his run at a record sixth-straight Tour victory during the months leading into the summer of 2004. May of that year would mark a memorable time in both Hayley and the cyclist’s life, as the Lance Armstrong Foundation launched the LIVESTRONG Bracelet fundraiser. The mission of the campaign was to generate $25 million dollars for the foundation through sales of yellow silicon bracelets with LIVESTRONG stamped into them.

The LIVESTRONG Bracelet

The bracelets, developed by partner Nike and their advertising agency, Wieden & Kennedy, were made yellow to symbolize the Tour de France leader’s jersey. In order to successfully launch the campaign, Wieden & Kennedy created an ad that would build on Armstrong’s ability to attract followers and lead the way, as he had done so many times before. The result was a touching, memorable 90 second television spot named ‘Magnet,’ that has been embedded below for you to see.

The ad conveys the message beautifully as it follows Armstrong cruising down the coastline, watching him outpace a train and draw the flight pattern of geese high overhead. He goes on to pull away from a gang of surrounding bikers, gives a strong wave to the hospitalized children as they race to see him, and finds buffalo giving chase as he rolls by. He then trudges along through a rainstorm, into a dark wooded forest, and finally through a bat populated tunnel, though emerges at full speed. Upon finding more suitable ground, he is joined by a growing number of cyclists as they follow him through the streets of town. Finally, the champ is riding solo down a country road as a young boy peddles furiously behind him, in which a seemingly magnetic force helps him close the gap, if only for a second.  



Lance Armstrong, showcasing the LIVESTRONG bracelet



A closer look at the ad reveals further associations with the campaign. While Armstrong goes cycling through the scenes, a subtle, but unusual amount of yellow is featured at several strategic places. The lining of the train, highway center stripes, young girl’s shirt, truck under the bridge, taxi in town, and the little boy’s helmet all weave traces of the campaign’s signature color into the spot. More interesting though is that the young girl featured in the children’s hospital is Hayley, which was filmed roughly around a year after her original diagnosis. Below is a freeze frame of her as she leads the children’s charge to see Armstrong ride by.



Hayley, 7 years old



This segment of the ad was shot during May of 2004 at the Children’s Hospital in Austin. Gina Hand, Hayley’s mother and my aunt, recalls the brittle condition chemo-treatment had Hayley in, though you would never know it from the smile on her face. The six second scene took two days to film, an admirable feat considering that some children we’re receiving treatment during the process. As Gina remembers, the shot used was not captured until final takes, nearly 12 hours into the second day of filming. She also spoke highly of the generosity presented in the opportunity, as children received a $500 reward for purely showing up to participate, even if they were not featured. This is not to mention the royalties that few, like Hayley, would receive following the ads release.

The experience left Hayley and her family with a bright memory during a dark time, and helped contribute to a stellar launch for the campaign. The bracelets became a popular accessory in the United States by summers end in 2004, and exploded worldwide following Armstrong’s record sixth-straight Tour victory in July of that year. The $25 million goal was reached within six short months of the launch, with over 70 million bracelets having been sold to date, all at only $1 apiece.

While the campaign thrived, Hayley continued to battle her illness. Following a grueling two-year and two-month battle, she was pronounced cancer-free on July 6, 2005. A few weeks later, Armstrong earned his seventh and final Tour de France victory, and to date remains the only person to accomplish the feat.
  

A lasting relationship was built between Hayley and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which she now visits once a year to be reminded of the troubles she faced and gain awareness for her future. She will turn 14 years old this coming May, and looks forward to enrolling in her freshman year of high school following summer’s end. While the tough time continues to fall further into the past, the inspiration brought to her and her family through this experience has made me a fan of the cyclist and those he partnered with to create such a memorable commercial. Below is a recent picture of my beautiful cousin Hayley, healthy and happy as ever.

Hayley, mirror a life-size photo ad of herself wearing the bracelet

From all the Herschaps, we love you Hayley!

Lance Armstrong Conquers Cancer. (1999, July 20). In American Cancer Society. Retrieved March 15, 2011, from <http://ww2.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_2_1x_Lance_Armstrong_Conquers_Cancer.asp>

Reger, J. (2004, July 25). Lance Armstrong Nike Commercial. In JoeReger.com. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from <http://www.joereger.com/entry-logid1-eventid2447-Lance-Armstrong-Nike-Commercial.log>