Cyber-bullying is a growing problem. Suicide is now the #2 cause of deaths among adolescents in Canada. Because it happens online and often out of sight the topic only seems to be discussed after a tragedy happens.

We needed to raise awareness around cyberbullying and drive traffic to the Canadian Safe School Network website where youth, parents and teachers could find resources to help deal with the issue. We wanted to get people talking and learning more about cyberbullying without the impetus of a shocking news story.

Using the popularity of the Jimmy Kimmel Show’s “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” YouTube segments, we created a parody video that replaced the celebrities with regular kids reading the mean things people said about them online. We launched the video the same week President Barack Obama was scheduled to appear in the late night sketch.

The video resulted in an 8000% increase in web traffic to canadiansafeschools.com The video received over 2.5 Million views on YouTube in less than a week and the campaign to date has received over 209 million earned media impressions. The video was also trending in both the #1 and #2 spots on BuzzFeed at the same time.

The video and The Canadian Safe School Network received news coverage from TIME, MSNBC, The Huffington Post, Today’s Parent, ABC News, Elle Magazine, Fox News, Seventeen Magazine, Upworthy, AOL, CBC News, CTV News, The Globe And Mail, The Toronto Star, Cosmopolitan, ESPN, Adweek, Fast Company, Creativity Online and more.

Using the popularity of the Jimmy Kimmel Show’s “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” YouTube segments, we created a parody video that replaced the celebrities with regular kids reading the mean things people said about them online. Then we launched the video the same week President Barack Obama was scheduled to appear in the late night sketch.

The video itself worked as a misdirect. Viewers are drawn in by the cache of the “reading mean tweets” device and some might even find the first few tweets funny. Then as the video continues the laughter fades, the reactions of the kids become more affected and it closes with the reveal of message of the video: “cyberbullying is no joke”.

This arc gave the piece of content a shareable appeal, knowing the next person who sees it will have a similar journey.

There was a 8000% increase in web traffic to canadiansafeschools.com

The video received over 2.5 Million views on YouTube in less than a week.

The campaign to date has received over 200 million earned media impressions.

The video was trending in both the #1 and #2 spots on BuzzFeed at the same time.

The video and The Canadian Safe School Network received news coverage from TIME, MSNBC, The Huffington Post, Today’s Parent, ABC News, Elle Magazine, Fox News, Seventeen Magazine, Upworthy, AOL, CBC News, CTV News, The Globe And Mail, The Toronto Star, Cosmopolitan, ESPN, Adweek, Fast Company, Creativity Online and more.