advert-body-2 by TBD & The Ad Council

In an effort to combat both online and offline bullying, the Ad Council has released ‘Because of You,’ a new Bullying Prevention message aimed at heightening self-awareness and reflection among teens. The new work encourages teens to consider the impact of their actions to create a more empathetic, inclusive culture.

‘Because of You’ is timed around two crucial moments for the issue – back to school season and Bullying Prevention Month in October – and inspires teens to start the year off in a positive frame of mind.

The creative shows teens sharing honest stories about how their peer’s words and actions, good and bad, impacted them. Developed pro bono by San Francisco-based independent creative agency TBD, and directed by youth creative studio and production company Adolescent Content, ‘Because of You’ looks to drive engagement with US teens throughout the school year through a suite of new PSA assets placed in donated media and with support from media partners including Twitter and Snapchat. Twitter will provide a custom emoji for the #BecauseOfYou hashtag and leverage new products to amplify the campaign message.

In the online social experiment video, ‘Honest Yearbook,’ TBD uses the backdrop of a real high school yearbook photoshoot to capture the spontaneous reactions of teens who were surprised with testimonial videos from peers. The resulting film reveals a narrative of compassion, appreciation, and surprise, demonstrating that even the smallest gestures can have profound effects as friends and peers state how others have helped change their lives and make things better.

In an accompanying ‘Because of You’ PSA, teens share real statements about the impact their peers had on their lives. It starts showing the dark side of bullying, then switches tone to show that even the smallest positive gesture can help teens get through tough times. Along with real high school teens, TBD enlisted the help of four talent ambassadors: actor Lonnie Chavis, YouTuber and actress, Jenn McAllister, content creator and makeup artist, James Charles and musician, Jacob Sartorius, who shared their own stories.