Seven well-known Melbourne industry leaders to be locked up in jail to help young people at risk
Seven well-known media and marketing leaders in Melbourne will be locked up behind bars on Friday 25 May to raise funds and awareness for Whitelion, an UnLtd charity partner.
Following on from the success of the Adland Bail Out in Sydney that saw 70 industry leaders spend the night in prison and raise over $140K to fund Whitelion’s outreach program, this time it’s Melbourne’s turn to experience what life in prison really is like for many young people.
Held in the Old Melbourne Gaol Watch House, the ‘inmates’ will be searched, fingerprinted and interrogated before handing over their mobile phones and putting on prison overalls. After some prison grub, the inmates will take part in thought-provoking workshops giving them insight into the issues that can lead to marginalised young people ending up in the juvenile justice system.
The inmates being locked up include: Alex Pekish, Dentsu; Andrew Knowles, Broadsheet; Daniel Bradley, CHE Proximity; Rob Moore, Mediacom; Simon Lawson, PHD, Tiffany Damm, InMobi and Wade James, oOh! Media.
Says Wade James, chair, UnLtd Melbourne Board: “I’m not sure what’s more terrifying, that photo of Alex Pekish or the thought of sitting in a small cell with Simon Lawson – again. We’d love the Melbourne media industry to support us in our quest to raise over $15,000 for such a great cause. We’ve currently got a long way to go to reach our target but it’s not too late. You can donate here: http://bit.ly/BailoutMelbourne.”
Says Chris Free, CEO, UnLtd, who only recently was bailed out of prison himself: “Having recently launched the UnLtd Melbourne Board, we couldn’t think a better way to initiate them than sending them to prison. This is just one of the first steps in galvanising the media, marketing and creative community in Victoria to drive social impact to help children and young people at risk. Having survived my night in jail, my advice to the inmates would be: don’t show up late, bring some tissues and keep your head down.”
Bail Out is a national campaign for Whitelion, providing a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of a young person that has been disconnected from our community due to abuse and neglect, drug addiction and poverty. Whitelion is a charity that connects at risk young people with the community to educate them to make positive and often life changing choices through practical and effective support such as mentoring programs, education and employment.
Melbourne Bail Out details
When: 5.30pm Friday 25 May 2018
Where: Old Melbourne Gaol Watch House
Whitelion Bailout: http://www.bailout.org.au.
Whitelion: http://www.whitelion.asn.au.
UnLtd: http://unltd.org.au/.
5 Comments
I think raising awareness for this is a great cause, but at first glance – it looks like a cartooned version of disadvantaged young people. That hats and hamburgler style outfits were probably a bit much guys.
So wrong, tone deaf and insensitive on soooo many levels.
What is this campaign doing exactly? I don’t understand??
Putting a bunch of ad people in cute hamburgler uniforms for a cute SJ cause
Hi “No one thought about how this might look” and “Naive”,
The reality is: 7 people from the world of media agencies and media owners in Melbourne are trying to raise as much money as we can for a good cause in Whitelion.
We’ve raised quite a bit already and we’re hoping to raise some more over the next week: I’m not sure that our collective efforts is something that should be criticised.
Should you feel we’ve done the wrong thing, you’re welcome to send us a message by not donating to this good cause.
Lol.
I didn’t realize that charitable campaigns were beyond criticism. The creative is on the nose – good cause or not.