Creative agency BarkleyOKRP in Kansas City, Missouri, launched a new AIโpowered campaign, โUnfinished Legacies,โ to combat the growing fentanyl epidemic and raise awareness of lives cut short from accidental overdoses. The campaign uses AI technology and deepfake techniques to recreate the imagine and likeness of three young individuals who mistakenly took pills laced with fentanyl–and died as a result.
Powered by AI and approved by their families, the campaign includes three ads featuring the young individuals as spokespeople, each detailing the regrets of their decision in candid and highly emotional monologues. The families worked closely with BarkleyOKRP to share their stories and humanize the scourge of fentanyl overdoses while demonstrating how the epidemic is taking the lives of people with hopes and dreams. BarkleyOKRP created authentic representations of the deceased by superimposing their image and voiceover actors with similar appearances.
The campaign was created for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and the United Way of Greater Kansas City to bring awareness to the increase in fentanyl-related deaths in the city, which have increased 1,190% in the past five years.
โAs a mom with two young children growing up in Kansas City, I could not be more invested in this work and hopeful for the impact it will have on our community,โ said Katy Hornaday, chief creative officer at BarkleyOKRP. โIn addition to the impact of this campaign on our city and the families involved, this was an important initiative for BarkleyOKRP, allowing us to showcase how AI can elevate creativity and impactful storytelling.โ
The campaign was introduced at a recent community event by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and representatives from the Kansas City Overdose Review Board, the United Way of Greater Kansas City, families of those who died from fentanyl overdoses and other local organizations. At the event, 1,000 units of the drug overdose preventive drug, Naloxone, were handed out to provide community members with life-saving resources.
Research conducted by BarkleyOKRP found the target audience for this campaign was 18- to 35-year-olds who regularly listen to and take advice from their peers. They do not want government agencies telling them what to do or not do. That insight led the agency to create an AI-powered campaign featuring Individuals who can share their stories peer-to-peer.
The three Unfinished Legacies stories will be released on social media and Spotify, and static versions will be launched across Kansas Cityโs out of home billboards. BarkleyOKRP will also be using Snapchat and other social media handles of the deceased individuals to bring a peer-to-peer message where the target audience is most likely to see them.
โSnapchat is a particularly dangerous platform for buying drugs,โ said Hornaday. โWe hope by using this channel to tell these powerful stories, it will deter others, specifically Kansas Cityโs youth, from buying drugs that could be laced with fentanyl.โ
The project was titled Unfinished Legacies to recognize the many individuals who have died because of fentanyl and leave behind families, friends and lives unfinished. It includes the launch of a dedicated website, UnfinishedLegacies.com, to provide resources for those in need.
This public service piece introduces us to Jordan Coburn, a loving young father who left behind a growing family. This and the other two PSAs in the campaign were directed by Brady Cackler via Barkley Films.
