Sweetshop’s Jakob Marky, BBDO NY and Sandy Hook Promise unveil The Kids Are Not Alright

The leading gun violence prevention organization, Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), has launched its latest PSA campaign titled The Kids Are Not Alright to bring awareness of the mounting mental health challenges facing America’s youth and teens.

 

The campaign is directed by Sweetshop’s half-Swedish, half-Hungarian director Jakob Marky, who also spent time in Australia to earn his stripes in the film industry. Created with BBDO NY, the films aim to raise parent’s awareness of this rising threat, and educate them on signs of emotional distress. Because, once you know the signs, you can prevent ALL forms of violence against youth.

The creative comes to life as “How To” videos equating the pent-up stress and anxiety within youngsters to a lethal powder keg. Taking a unique visual approach, each spot is carefully crafted to feel real, relatable, and accurate.

The campaign is an impressive use of stock-imagery at its finest—eliciting a genuine emotional response to increase empathy, vigilance, and we hope, action—all on a pro-bono budget. It follows prior highly recognized gun violence PSAs from SHP and BBDO including Emmy-winning “Back to School Essentials” (2019), among others.

Says Marky: “As a Swede, gun violence has been a pretty abstract topic for me. We read about it, but we do not experience it, first hand. But reading the copy from the creatives at BBDO, something changed. It is a powder keg, with corona, schools locked down and the number of guns and mental health issues in the country, something needed to be done.

“There’s a world our teenagers are part of that we know very little about. Because of social media, they’re on the school yard 100% of the time without us knowing about it. I hope these ads help parents to visualise what it feels like for a teenager to live online for a year and then come back into society.”

Says Peter Alsante, senior creative director, BBDO New York: “Teenagers are in crisis right now and most people aren’t even aware of it. So we wanted to spark the conversation and raise awareness about the signs of distress and how Sandy Hook Promise can help these kids overcome them.”

“We may think kids are resilient, but the truth is — the kids are not alright,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.  “More youth are struggling with mental health issues and heightened depression and anxiety as a result of the pandemic. And it’s our responsibility to listen to them, support and protect them.”

Recent studies show more than 70% of teenagers are struggling with mental health concerns, and one in four has considered suicide. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among teenagers — and these tragedies can be preventable.

Creative Agency: BBDO, New York

Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars
SVP Senior Creative Director: Peter Alsante
Creative Director: Kara Goodrich
Creative Director: Cesar Finamori
SVP, Group Executive Producer: Alex Gianni
Producer: Tatiana Lanier
Production Coordinator: Annie Hutchings
Music Producer: Julia Millison
Business Manager: Grace Kelly
SVP Senior Director: Lindsey Cash
VP Account Director: Ann Kim
VP Planning Director: Ben Bass
Planner: Kamillah Collins

Production Company: Sweetshop, USA
Director: Jakob Marky
Executive Producers: Jeff Miller, George Meeker
Producer: Matt Zion-Basile

Co-Production Company: Office of Development & Design (ODD)
Design Director: Gary Breslin
Executive Producers: Matthew Turke, Tim Case
Producer: Linden Carty

Editorial Company: School Editing, Toronto
“Circuit” & “Disappear” Editor: Ben Canny
“Bomb” Editor: Stacey Foster Jackson (via ODD)
Co-Editors: Chelsea Smith (via ODD), Taylor McWade
Executive Producer, Partner: Sarah Brooks

Design & Animation: Office of Development & Design (ODD)
Creative Director: Gary Breslin
Animators: Hayato Yamane, Paul Todaro

Finishing Company: Fort York, Toronto
Flame Artists: Melissa Vasiliev, Luke White, James Marin
Producer: Armen Bunag
Executive Producer: Erica Bourgault-Assaf