How Viral Content Works When it Connects Story to Purpose
In 2014, over 17 million people dumped ice water on their heads and donated to an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) organization.
The “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” raised awareness of the disease, a degenerative illness with no known cure, but action for Lou Gehrig’s disease as well. It raised over $115 million in donations to support the ALS Association’s mission “to make ALS livable and cure it.”
I remember the excitement and the anticipation of Ice Bucket Challenge nominations when I was in fourth grade. While I personally was never nominated (I was 10 and had no social media so it adds up), my parents and their friends organized a pool party during the summer so we could participate. They nominated us, and we accepted the challenge, pouring buckets of ice water on our heads and then jumped in the pool.
But take away the ice and the buckets from this campaign and the subsequent cause marketing that followed, and you’ll learn that the story begins a lot earlier, and on a baseball field.
Lou Gehrig, known as the “Iron Horse,” played 17 seasons with the New York Yankees. Known for his consistency and toughness on the field, Gehrig hit 493 home runs and held the record for most consecutive games played (2,130) until 1995. But in 1939, Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS and shortly after, he chose to retire from baseball. There was little known about the disease at the time, but Gehrig’s retirement and moving farewell speech changed that.
July 4, 1939 is designated as “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” at Yankee Stadium, to honor the former first baseman. Around 62,000 fans listened on that summer day to hear Gehrig give that famous retirement speech, as he deemed himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
The ALS Association continues to fight for a cure and to raise awareness through cause-driven marketing and community driven-storytelling. It is able to do this because
Eleven years later, in spring 2025, the bucket of ice returned, only this time it to spread mental health awareness. This campaign, started at the University of South Carolina by the Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club, wasn’t expected to have the significant reach that it did. The students launched the #SpeakYourMindChallenge on Instagram in late March, with the goal to raise a few hundred dollars to “empower minds and erase stigma” around mental health.
Only, this video went viral. It caught on quick making national news and had celebrities participating. Instead of raising a few hundred dollars, the challenge has raise approximately $414,454 as of May 4, 2025, with the goal now elevated to $500,000 for Active Minds.
This proves once again that social media storytelling, packed with authenticity and emotion, can spark a national movement, and hit it out of the park like these two campaigns did.
The evolution of the ice bucket challenge campaign reveal the enduring power of public relations when anchored in legacy and community. Whether it’s honoring Gehrig’s courage, confronting mental health stigma, or giving people a tangible way to take action, viral content works when it connects story to purpose.
People care about people, and when you empower them to do something about it, it’s magical and (or little cold if you’re doing the ice bucket challenge).
Click here to donate to the ALS Association: https://www.als.org/get-involved/ways-give
Click here to donate to Active Minds: https://support.activeminds.org/fundraiser/6221101
Elizabeth Dunning 
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