A charitable group trying to put an end to bullying in Canadian schools has launched a blunt new campaign highlighting the negative side of back to school for some kids.
The Canadian Safe School Network (CSSN) campaign counters the happy-go-lucky messages in most advertising campaigns at this time of year, selling everything from hoodies to laptops.
Instead, the CSSN’s in-your-face approach attempts to show parents what taunts their kids may be facing not just at school, but online around the clock.
With the support of Toronto-based agency John St., the campaign takes the “back to school” phrase and replaces “school” with painful comments such as “loser” or “fatty” on posters and in social media.
There are also radio spots with mock retailers promoting back-to-school sales where the word “school” is changed with the word “loser” throughout. At the end of the ad, there’s a tagline aimed at parents saying, “Back to school doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone. Talk to your kids about bullying before it starts.” The ads will be run as public service announcements on radio stations across Canada.
Ryan Hollinrake, CSSN’s director of partnerships and strategy, said the campaign is intentionally harsh to show parents the reality their kids may be facing at school. He said the campaign was timed for the back-to-school season, when bullying often starts, or may begin again for some kids.
“This time of year is actually very hard for those kids who are targeted by bullies at school and online,” said Hollinrake. “We wanted an approach to say to parents, ‘Listen: This actually does happen.’ It’s a bigger issue than many people realize it is.”
Niall Kelly, creative director at John St., hopes the campaign will inspire parents to reach out to their kids and talk to them about bullying, and how to handle it. “It just seemed like a really good time to encourage parents to have that conversation, not when the problem presents itself, but when the kids are heading back to school,” Kelly said.
It’s the second collaboration between the CSSN and John St. this year. In March, the “Kids Read Mean Tweets” online video received global attention. It has been viewed more than four million times on YouTube and nabbed a Bronze Lion in the Branded Content & Entertainment competition at the 62nd annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.
CSSN, born of the Government of Ontario’s Safe School Task Force, was launched in 1997 by representatives from police, education and business communities.
