Approximately 3,600 adolescent girls are sold for sex each year in Georgia.* This staggering statistic is due in part to Atlanta’s visibility as a global business hub. It’s supported by a large convention and tourism industry and has proximity to the world’s busiest airport.

This crisis was set to worsen in January 2019 as the city prepared to host Super Bowl LIII. It’s a sad reality that, while the game brings large crowds and excitement, the excitement is tempered by an increase in sex trafficking. January is also Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Our goal was to shine a light on the sex trafficking of minors through awareness, education, and action. And we knew Atlanta was the right place at the right time to demonstrate just how big the crisis is – and spark a movement to Stop Traffick.

*The Schapiro Group

It’s easy to ignore a statistic. It’s nearly impossible to ignore 72 school buses – generally associated with innocence and safety – stopping traffic in Atlanta to highlight the massiveness of Georgia’s child sex trafficking problem. So, the big idea in two words? Stop Traffick

The creative idea is rooted in the power of adding humanity to a statistic. No one can quite understand the magnitude of the number 3,600…until 72 school buses, the number of buses needed to hold 3,600 children trafficked each year in the state, are seen driving in a single line through the streets of Atlanta, creating the world’s largest moving billboard. This simple, stunning “Stop Traffick” message was amplified in channels around the city.

With a diverse population of six million people unaware of the city’s sex slavery crisis, a newly elected governor motivated to make change, and the eyes of the world watching as we prepared to host Super Bowl LIII, we knew Atlanta was the right city at the right time to Stop Traffick.

Our approach was based on two insights that created a powerful tension. The first was the fact that sex trafficking of young girls is a horrific problem in Atlanta that no one wants to talk about. The second was the fact that highway traffic is also a problem in Atlanta – except everyone loves to talk about that. In fact, the city can’t shut up about it! So, we used the conversation around highway traffic to get people talking and change the conversation around child sex trafficking.

In other words, we used “traffic” to talk about “traffick.”

The cornerstone of Stop Traffick was a stunt that took more than six months to plan. It required citywide collaboration from public and private companies, 50 police officers and 100 bus drivers.

We wrapped the tops and sides of 72 yellow school buses with Stop Traffick messages to form a mile-long, moving billboard, disrupting morning traffic across Atlanta. We liaised with media to align the stunt’s timing with news helicopter availability.

The event kicked off with a rally featuring Georgia’s governor, civic and business leaders. We pitched priority reporters in advance to ensure live coverage.

A team coordinated live updates across social channels literally changing the conversation from “traffic” to “traffick.”

Highway billboards, car and store decals spread the Stop Traffick message on the ground.

It culminated on StopTraffick.com where we promoted numerous ways to take action, including community watchdog pledges, money donations and training requests for schools and businesses.