Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland and NY offices teamed on this “See Us Unite” PSA for The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), the newly formed organization launched to improve advocacy for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and combat the hate and violence against the AAPI community that has grown at an alarming rate as of late.
The PSA premiered during the recent primetime global TV special, See Us Unite for Change–The Asian American Foundation in service of the AAPI Community, hosted by Ken Jeong to help drive awareness and understanding of the AAPI experience.
Credits
Client The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) Agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland & New York Karl Leiberman, executive creative director; Kevin Kaminishi, art director; Gino Click, copywriter; Nick Setounski, Chris Whalley, directors of production; Jasmine Sarbaz, producer. Footage Research Nickerson Research, Inc., research & clearance. Editorial Joint NY Laura Bermudez, editor; Spencer Cohen, assistant editor; Kari Ickert, sr. post producer; Michelle Carman, post exec producer. VFX The Mill Vi Nguyen, 2D lead artist; Nick Pfister, 2D artist; Sean O’Loughlin, associate producer; Luis Martin, production supervisor. Color Company 3 Keith Raisch, colorist; Anna Kelman, producer. Music APM Music, LLC; Track Title–”Emotive Hope,” composed by Thomas Richard, Peter Howe and Stephen Christopher Tait. Sound Design/Mix Sonic Union Rob McIver, audio mixer/sound engineer; Justine Cortale, studio director; Pat Sullivan, head of production.
Continuing their partnership to combat the mental health crisis among America’s youth, the Ad Council and McCann New York have released the latest installment of the “Sound It Out” campaign which focuses on helping parents and caregivers have meaningful conversations with their kids about emotional wellbeing.
The new work, “Listening is a Form of Love,” focuses on the important role parents and caregivers play in supporting young people’s emotional wellbeing and is supported by new data from Surgo Health’s Youth Mental Health Tracker. The survey highlights that: 55% of youth (ages 10-24) report mental health struggles; and one in five youth report symptoms of depression, and one in four report symptoms of anxiety.
The film includes an interactive digital experience that invites parents to practice “holding space” by pressing the space bar to listen to kids sharing what they wish their parents could hear, in their own words. Along with this literal interpretation of the active listening the campaign encourages, the website also gives valuable tools to help parents and caregivers be better listeners, and in turn, better support their kids.
There is also this 60-second PSA--directed by Alex Fischman Cardenas via Greenpoint Pictures--which underscores the power and importance of listening to your loved ones.
