Pssst! Watch out! There’s virus out there which is rapidly expanding. The CDC has triggered a red-code alarm, which means that we are facing an epidemic. Somehow, there’s no need to worry: According to the organization, the deadly virus only affects teenagers. Still, shouldn’t we be worried? Well, to tell the truth, according to social activist, global public speaker, and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor, Monica Lewinsky, you should be worried. Not about yourself, but about your daughter, son, or niece. It’s the younger generation that’s in danger.

The symptoms are pretty nasty: dizziness, vomiting, and even though it might seem like a common fever, the virus makes the youngsters miss school classes. Yes, you know the teens, they are kind of happy that they can skip classes. However, the truth is that the virus — although hidden – is serious, as the disease we’re talking about is bullying. Or rather cyber-bullying. And make no mistake, the epidemic has reached massive proportions.

To illustrate what this means for the teenagers and how it affects them, Lewinsky has joined forces with creative agency BBDO New York and Dini von Mueffling Communications and — in support of eleven of the world’s top organizations which help fight bullying — launched “The Epidemic,” a campaign that follows the success of the social activist’s previous campaigns, such as the 2017’s Emmy nominated “In Real Life” and 2018’s “#DefyTheName.”

“The Epidemic” spreads as a simple, yet impactful campaign. It presents the viewers with an average American teenager named Hailey, who shows symptoms of a mysterious disease. But there’s more than meets the eye.

Once you get to the film’s end, you’re invited to enter your phone number. Then, you get a chance to watch the video all over again, only with a twist no one wants to see, or experience. We don’t want to spoil the outcome for you, so we, alongside the New-York-based agency, invite you to visit the-epidemic.com website to get the full experience of this year’s heartbreaking campaign.

The pro bono piece increases awareness around the growing epidemic of cyberbullying. Just last year, the Pew Research Center discovered that 59% of US teens have been bullied or harassed online. UNICEF has come to supports the numbers and reports that 1 in 3 young people in 30 countries has been victims of cyberbullying. Lastly, 1 in 5 teens says they’ve skipped school to avoid online harassment and violence. Not a pretty thing to read, is it?

“I’m very proud of this campaign’s innovative approach to storytelling,” shares Ms. Lewinsky. “Bullying is a global epidemic and the signs can often be hard to see since so much of it takes place online. But make no mistake; there are real, offline consequences that range from bad to grave. With “The Epidemic” we’re working to build vital awareness, help people learn empathy through experience and remind anyone who is being bullied: please don’t suffer in silence.”

“Most teens experience cyberbullying on their phones, so we wanted to create something that really brought that to life,” explains Roberto Danino, Creative Director at BBDO. “To stay authentic to the cyberbullying experience, we used text messages that were inspired by real online bullying. This way the viewer not only understands what it feels like but also its harsh consequences,” adds Bianca Guimaraes, VP Creative Director at BBDO.

“Online bullying and harassment are, as the campaign is titled, an epidemic. It is our fervent hope that by having audiences experience for a few seconds what someone living through it must deal with, we can help change this behavior which is having dire consequences for our country’s youth,” rallies Dini von Mueffling, Founder and CEO of Dini von Mueffling Communications. “It is a distinct privilege to amplify Monica’s brilliant voice and work with our extraordinary creative partner BBDO,” Dini concludes.

The current campaign is a unique PSA that shows viewers how can video perfectly merge with interactive to allow viewers to fully understand the impact of cyberbullying. Moreover, the initiative serves as a reminder to all online users by pointing out that they may never know what someone is going through. There’s so much we don’t know when it comes to online harassment and that’s why we should treat everyone with compassion.

Credits:

Client: Monica Lewinsky

Agency: BBDO New York

Chief Creative Officer: Worldwide, David Lubars

Chief Creative Officer: New York, Greg Hahn

VP Creative Director: Bianca Guimaraes

Creative Director: Roberto Danino

VP Creative Director: Gary du Toit

VP Creative Director: Lance Vining

Associate Creative Director: Jim Connolly

Director of Integrated Production: David Rolfe

Executive Producer: Jessica Coccaro

Executive Producer, Digital: James Young

Developer: Alex Massicott

Developer: Nick Russo

Digital Resource Manager: Jimmy McGee

SVP Senior Director: Lindsey Cash

VP Director: Carrie White

Assistant Account Executive: Ben Rickabaugh

VP Planning Director: Karin Santiago

Senior Brand Strategist: Dexter Blumenthal

Marketing Science Project Lead: Crystal Lin

EVP Director of Communications: Roy Elvove

Corporate Communications Associate: Kaley Turner

Production Company: Sanctuary

Director: Cole Webley

Director of Photography: Paul Meyers

Executive Producers: Preston Lee, Kristen Bedard-Johnson

Line Producer: Noah Thomason

Editorial Company: Arcade Edit

Editor: Paul Martinez

Assistant Editors: Chris Angel & Jeff Lopus

Executive Producer: Sila Soyer

Producer: Fanny Cruz

Telecine Company: Company 3

Senior Colorist: Tom Poole

Executive Producer: Ashley McKim

Producer: Alexandra Lubrano

Conform / Finish Company: Arcade Edit

Flame Artist: Tristian Wake

Flame Assist: Mark Popham

After Effects Artist: Riccardo Sinti

Music: Human

Composer/Creative Director: Sloan Alexander

Executive Producer: James Dean Wells

Audio Post: Post Human

Chief Engineer: Sloan Alexander

PR Agency: Dini von Mueffling Communications

CEO: Dini von Mueffling

Account Director: Daniel Lempert