What’s the use of an umbrella missing its middle during a rainstorm? Or beach-tennis paddle without a middle? How about a piano with no middle keys? They’re all part of a world without middles, brought to life for State Street Global Advisors in the latest campaign for its mid cap ETF (exchange-traded fund), MDY. In the stock market, mid caps, as their name implies, comprise companies with market value in the middle of the spectrum, the sweet spot between large caps and small caps. Investors often assume that if they own both large and small caps, they have broad exposure to the market–meaning they have covered the entire scale of the market. But without mid caps in their portfolio, they don’t.
Created by McCann NY, the campaign opens with this spot titled “Rainy Day,” directed by Bjorn Ruhmann of SMUGGLER. The commercial shows us a world lacking middles, underscoring the campaign refrain, “The middle can make all the difference.”
Mid caps like MDY really can make all the difference—portfolios containing mid caps have a track record of outperforming portfolios without them. The campaign, spanning TV, social and digital, drives to a website experience where investors can use an online tool to find out how increasing a mid cap allocation can make all the difference in their own portfolios.
Credits
Client State Street Global Advisors Agency McCann New York, Gene Campanelli, Peter Powell, Daniele Ferdinand, SVPs, group creative directors; Stephanie Cajucom, VP, creative director; Donna McCracken, SVP, executive producer; Anna Andreis, SVP, group strategy director; Daniel Lammon, VP, strategy director. Production Craft NY Fermin Fernandez, sr. designer; Daniel Farinella, digital advertisement development; Puneet Oberoi, quality assurance engineer; Gabrielle Wilson, digital production coordinator. Production Company SMUGGLER Björn Rühmann, director; Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody, Allison Kunzman, exec producer; Nick Sutherland-Dodd, producer; Justin Brown, DP. Production Services Company Migrate Films Libbi Ball, exec producer. Editorial Work Editorial NY Rich Orrick, editor; Fatos Marishta, assistant editor; Chris Delarenal, producer; Alejandra Alarcon, exec producer. VFX Preymaker Angus Kneale, chief creative; Verity Grantham, exec producer; Edward Lopez, Jongmoon Woo, Jamie Scott, Simon Holden, Tim Bird, Wynand de Wet, creatives; Jubulani Simelane, Joaqui Lopez, Kendall Rotar, production; Melanie Wickham, exec producer. Audio Post Sonic Union Paul Weiss, mix engineer; Alex Thiel, assistant engineer; Patrick Sullivan, head of production.
White Ribbon has launched its “My Friend, Max Hate” campaign in Canada featuring this public service film that follows the journey of a young, isolated boy who becomes influenced by a misogynistic online puppet, “Max Hate.” The PSA reveals how online figures in the manosphere--a network of online communities promoting hateful, misogynistic rhetoric which fuels attitudes among young men and boys that contribute to gender-based violence.
“It’s alarming to see the growing impact of the manosphere and how they are conditioning vulnerable populations such as teens, particularly young men,” said Humberto Carolo, White Ribbon CEO. “These misogynistic online groups have existed for years, but their influence has grown under controversial figures, driving an increase in gender-based violence. With the My Friend, Max Hate campaign, our goal is to expose the damaging influence of misogynistic figures and raise awareness, particularly among young men who are often drawn into these toxic online communities.”
Launching two weeks before Safer Internet Day (February 11), the campaign--from Toronto agency Bensimon Byrne--underscores the importance of online safety and protecting youth through clear content boundaries.
White Ribbon is creating an online resource hub that educates individuals on how to recognize harmful online groups and provides support for young men and boys seeking to escape. Additionally, the campaign will launch a TikTok account, @max_hate_, featuring the PSA ‘My Friend, Max Hate’ puppet to expose how these figures gain influence and spread hate in a space that reaches those most influenced, young men.
The PSA was directed by Angie Bird via Toronto-based Westside Studio.
