Youth homelessness is spotlighted in new awareness campaign
The campaign to End Youth Homelessness in the UK has teamed up with advertising agency Leo Burnett and media agency Jack Agency to raise awareness of youth homelessness, a national issue effecting 80,000 youth. The campaign illustrates the dilemma faced by young people who find themselves trapped in dire circumstances, both at home and on the streets.
The campaign called "Get them to a Safe Place", is an online film and poster campaign created by Leo Burnett and disseminated via Jack Agency's poster sites across the UK. Homelessness among youth is a global problem that also effects 2.5m American youth.
An animated figure maneuvers across spray painted words on the outside of buildings - the division between home and the street - highlighting the precarious position vulnerable young people find themselves each year, and pressing need to Get them to a Safe Place.
The campaign also highlights the challenging decisions young people are forced to make. One illustration shows a young person walking a tightrope formed out of words that speak one young person's dilemma: "living at home with addict parents or living on the street with addicts."
"Leo Burnett asked us to create a film to raise awareness of EYH along the lines of their successful poster campaign. I wanted it to be as simple and minimalist as possible," said FX Goby, Director of the film. "This is a film about youth living on the streets; we needed to stay modest but with a strong visual to get our message across. The street sound atmosphere adds to the discomfort and the unrest, highlighting what a naturally hostile place it is."
"Every young person deserves a safe place to sleep. For that reason, we are delighted to be partnering with End Youth Homelessness to raise awareness about such an important issue," Khaly Nguyen, marketing manager of Jack Agency.
This partnership means that we can give something back to some of the most vulnerable young people in the country, using our sites on the street as a platform to spread the word about youth homelessness."
The poster campaign is targeted in London, Sheffield, Manchester and Glasgow.