Raw emotions surface quickly in Raising the Roof‘s latest campaign, “Humans For Humans,” an awareness effort designed to humanize some of Canada’s most marginalized individuals.
“I was enjoying a latte when I saw a hobo girl across the street. I almost vomited. Get back to your side of the bridge. No 1 Likes u,” reads Melissa, homeless for 10 years.
The campaign uses the popular Jimmy Kimmel Live segment “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” as a template, and centers on a video called “The Homeless Read Mean Tweets.” As actual homeless people read cruel messages, their reactions are highly emotional, ranging from sadness, disbelief and anger.
“I hate when it gets cold out cuz all the homeless people get on the bus,” reads Jesse, homeless for three years.
The spots are currently running on TV in both 30- and 60-second versions.
Additional campaign elements include print, OOH, digital and social. All creative drives Canadians to HumansForHumans.ca, where the video can be viewed in its entirety and shared online. The site also features a second video called “What the Homeless Want You to Know” and features a list of commonly asked questions such as “Are you on drugs?” and “How did you go from a perfect life to homeless?” to which the homeless respond to directly.
Developed by Leo Burnett (the non-profit organization’s agency of record since 2009) “Humans For Humans” has been in the works since the summer of 2014, and is an attempt to expose and clarify the many stereotypes surrounding the issue of homelessness.
“It gives homeless people a voice, and they’re able to break all the myths that people think about them,” said Anthony Chelvanathan, group creative director and art director at Leo Burnett.
“This feels like more than just a PSA. It’s just how we should all — as human beings — treat other human beings.”
Chelvanathan said the agency found the homeless individuals through organizations affiliated with Raising The Roof (a Toronto-based organization that works to find long-term solutions to homelessness) and spent several months getting to know them and hearing their stories.
When the production crew arrived to shoot, the men and women had no idea what they would be reading.
“We wanted to capture the rawness,” said Chelvanathan. “As soon as they read it the first time, we wanted to capture that feeling. They were very upset, but we did tell that this is not how we feel about it, we just want to get your point of view on this. They were very willing to help us with this cause.”
“Humans for Humans” is phase one of a larger campaign. New creative will launch in the fall.
The current effort runs until mid-May. M&K Media handled the buy.
