A climber with cancer whose life was saved by UK HealthCare? Not exactly.

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17-04-2025

In our Reality Check stories, Herald-Leader journalists dig deeper into questions over facts, consequences and accountability. Read more. Story idea? [e-mail].
A sheer rock cliff above a river. Sweeping violins. A climber's sinewy body, her hands and feet clinging to gaps as she makes her perilous ascent.
'I shouldn't be here.'
The unidentified climber then explains in voiceover about her dire cancer diagnosis by three doctors who told her she'd never climb again.
'I wanted a different answer,' the voice continues. 'And I got it at UK HealthCare. It took a drug nobody else had yet. Twelve rounds of chemo, A 10-hour surgery a, 16-person team and eight months of rehab.
'But here I am, right where I was never supposed to be.'
It's a dramatic, stirring ad, so good that the University of Kentucky's health care arm showed it during both the Super Bowl and the NCAA tournament.
But the woman, professional climber Amity Warme, is not a UK patient.
According to her Instagram page, she recently suffered a finger injury, but not a terrible cancer diagnosis. And nowhere does the ad say that Warme is an actor or that the story is a dramatization.
The one-minute ad — created by UK's longtime advertising partner, Cornett — has raised some eyebrows from both fans and critics, who wonder why UK would bother to use an actor when they have so many real patients whose lives were actually saved by UK doctors.
It caught the attention of Lily Saman, a climber who recognized Warme, who is famous in part for five free climbs of El Capitan in Yosemite.
'When I first saw the commercial during the Super Bowl, it really spoke to me on multiple levels,' Saman said in an email.
'I was immediately drawn by the beautiful landscape. As a Red River Gorge climber, I could quickly tell this was not filmed in Kentucky, but I still appreciated that my sport was getting exposure and hoped everyone felt as drawn to it as I was.'
Saman's father was diagnosed with cancer that same week.
'When I saw the commercial, I felt hopeful and was inspired by her story,' she said. 'Learning that it was completely fabricated left me feeling very deceived — that I was tricked during a vulnerable time in my life and that I fell for it.'
Judging from the comments on YouTube and other social media posts, others agreed.
'Yo! Instead of using a pro climber to tell a bogus story, you could've used a normal native-born Kentucky climber, who miraculously survived a near-fatal accident and was actually treated by UK, and now climbs harder than they ever did before,' said one commenter.
'Hit me up! I'll take pennies on the dollar compared to any desperate pro athlete who is willing to peddle bs for you.'
Geoffrey Blair is the director of Marketing and Brand Strategy for the executive vice president of health affairs at UK, a role shared by Eric Monday, the executive VP for finance and administration, and Robert DiPaola, who is also the provost.
Blair said that UK HealthCare has run a series of ad campaigns designed to heighten awareness of its advanced medical services for the future, when people might need them.
UK's Markey Cancer Center is the state's only National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Center and treats thousands of patients from the state.
'Amity Warme is not one of our patients, but the character's story dramatized in the TV commercial represents dozens of real UK HealthCare patient journeys each year – someone hit with an unexpected diagnosis who is able to get back to doing the things they love thanks to UK HealthCare,' he said.
'The 'drug no one else had yet' was a nod to treatments available through our clinical trials offerings rather than a specific medication.'
Blair said UK always uses 'talent' in broadcast TV commercials because of 'the time commitment needed, the stamina required, and the ability to convey a range of physical actions and emotions as necessary to tell the story.'
But they do feature real patients in other ads, like the story of Joshua Taylor, whose heart failure led to 180 days in the hospital, a medically induced coma, months of rehab and a 12-hour transplant surgery to save his life.
Blair also said they had hoped to film the ad in Kentucky, but bad weather meant moving to Tennessee, where leaves were still on trees.
UK's 2025 contract with Cornett is $696,600. The Super Bowl buy cost almost $50,000, while the NCAA Tournament cost about $64,000.
Blair said so far, the 'I shouldn't be here' campaign has lifted awareness of UK HealthCare by more than 320%.
'Metrics for emotional power, emotional activation and positivity have more than doubled,' he said.
'The story in the ad is representative of the types of stories we hear frequently from our doctors and patients: 'I went elsewhere and was told I had no options. I came to UK and underwent extensive treatment that included something only UK was able to give me. Now I'm back to living my life.' '
But experts in ethics in advertising say UK should have been more transparent about what was represented.
Andrew Susman, executive director of the Institute for Advertising Ethics in New York City, watched the UK ad and said it violated numerous principles his group uses to train advertising professionals.
'The ad appears to present a first-person account, yet it's unclear whether the narrator is recounting her own experience,' he said. 'If dramatized, that must be clearly disclosed.'
He said Federal Trade Commission guidelines require that testimonials reflect real experiences or clearly state otherwise.
In addition, Susman said, dramatizing a life-or-death narrative without transparency 'risks manipulating vulnerable viewers —particularly in health care.'
All these problems could have been avoided with a simple disclaimer such as 'dramatization based on a true story.'
'Using the real patient—or clearly labeling the dramatization—would honor audience trust while maintaining emotional resonance,' Susman said.
Other experts agree. Dr. Gillian Oakenfull, a Professor of Marketing at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University of Ohio, said transparency in health care advertising is critical.
'Without it, there's a real risk of misleading viewers, which could be considered deceptive under most advertising ethics codes,' Oakenfull said in an email.
'Second, the claim of exclusive access to a particular medicine carries weight. While UK's Markey Cancer Center does have an extensive clinical trial program, implying exclusivity without explanation or substantiation can mislead audiences. These types of claims should always be backed up, ideally with clear context around trial participation or partnerships.'
Third, she said, the use of a young cancer survivor paired with the rock climbing taps into deep emotional currents.
'That's understandable from a creative standpoint, but when patient representation becomes blurred or dramatized, it opens the door to backlash,' she said. 'The audience is not just watching a brand message—they're engaging with what they believe is a lived experience.'
Oakenfull believes that health care advertising has a higher ethical bar.
'Marketing should elevate clarity, truthfulness and respect for the patient journey—not stretch the truth in pursuit of a powerful message,' she said.
This will become more important as artificial intelligence becomes more integrated in our lives, and it becomes harder to discern what is real and what is fake.
'When it gets harder to tell the real from the unreal, we need more transparency,' said John Ferre, a professor of communication at the University of Louisville. 'It's a beautifully done ad. It's a terrific ad. But it's not transparent.
'UK HealthCare represents something really, really good,' he said. 'They should stay consistent with that and be clear this is a dramatization.'