Over the last few years there have been a myriad of conversations around economic mobility, “talent shortages,” and efforts to create a more equitable workforce. Now, the Ad Council is launching a campaign from agency Ogilvy that shines a light on the skills and potential of the 70+ million workers in the U.S. who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs), rather than through a bachelor’s degree.
STARs make up 50% of the U.S. workforce, and they’ve built valuable skills through community college, workforce training, certificate programs, military service, or on-the-job learning. The “paper ceiling” they face represents the invisible barriers (like biased algorithms, degree screens, stereotypes, and the lack of alumni networks) that hold STARs back from upward mobility in their careers. By creating a movement to acknowledge this barrier exists, we can start to break it down.
"Tear the Paper Ceiling" is a landmark initiative led by the Ad Council and Opportunity@Work to change mindsets, transform hiring practices, and move more workers without college degrees into higher-wage roles. The initiative is supported by a coalition of 30+ nonprofits, talent developers, and businesses including Comcast NBCUniversal, Google, IBM, LinkedIn and Walmart.
This anthem PSA was directed by Gabriel Novis of production house Los York.
CreditsClient The Ad Council Michelle Hillman, chief campaign development officer; Dzu Bui, VP, group campaign director; Mary Zost, campaign director; Kayla Sykes, assistant campaign manager. Agency Ogilvy Devika Bulchandani, global president and CEO; Liz Taylor, global chief creative officer; Chris Beresford-Hill, president, Ogilvy Advertising, North America ; Anibal Casso, chief strategy officer, North America; Carina De Blois, president, New York; Menno Kluin, Marcos Kotlhar, chief creative officers, New York; George Sholley, head of production, North America ; Jeff Curry, global executive creative director ; Andrea Messer, Dinesh Kapoor, group creative directors; Jonathan Gibson, executive group director; Jess Ryle, producer; Grace Donahue, sr. art director; Gillian Goodman, sr. copywriter; Yung Lee, sr. designer ; Anna Fecskes, executive producer, experiential. Production Los York Gabriel Novis, director; Jeremy Snell, DP. Editorial Cut+Run Mah Ferraz, editor. Music Found Objects
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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