This film highlights a “New Recruits” activation in Montclair, NJ, created by Energy BBDO on behalf of Change the Ref, a leading gun-control organization. The event took place last Saturday and was hosted by Change the Ref founders Manuel and Patricia Oliver whose son Joaquin “Guac” Oliver and 16 others were murdered, the victims of gun violence, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Flynn Drew directed the film via Energy BBDO.
“New Recruits” seeks to enlist children for action in the heart of a warzone, showcasing the shocking fact that if they were active-duty military, they might face a safer reality than the one America’s gun-centric culture has wrought at home. The event took place at a “faux-recruitment” center–the key message being, “Send your children to war. It’s safer than sending them to school.”
The goal is to raise awareness about the crushing reality our children face every day, amplify awareness for the Change the Ref organization, and push for a ban on weapons of war.
The catalyst for this idea started with a tweet from President Biden who shared the statistic that over the last two decades, more school-aged children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and active-duty military combined.
Credits
Client Change the Ref Patricia Oliver, Manuel Oliver, founders; Anna Johnson, social media lead. Agency Energy BBDO Luiz Sanches, North America chief creative officer; Josh Gross, chief creative officer; Gary du Toit, creative director/copywriter; Lance Vining, creative director/art director; Charles Foley, copywriter/art director; Alex Gianni, head of production; Hayley Baldwin, experiential production lead; Flynn Drew, director; Mitch Monzon, studio lead; Jeff Davis, executive producer; Serena Lignel, producer; Daniel Kuypers, music lead. Audio Ben Treimer, audio engineer. Music Human Music & Sound Design.
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More