Stop Traffick brought a statistic to life in a way too big to ignore. It started in Atlanta with the world’s largest moving billboard. Three weeks before Atlanta hosted Super Bowl LIII, we wrapped 72 school buses with an FBI data point: “3,600 kids sold for sex each year in Georgia. #StopTraffick.” This mile-long billboard was amplified via digital OOH, car and store decals, social, and a rally. It required six months of coordination with the governor, Department of Transportation, bus drivers, and police officers. Stop Traffick became a citywide initiative to create awareness and action in Atlanta.

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. Which is why it’s no coincidence that 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

The cornerstone of Stop Traffick was an outdoor stunt that stretched across Atlanta. It took more than six months to plan and required citywide collaboration including The Georgia Department of Transportation, 50 police officers, and 100 bus drivers.

We wrapped the tops and sides of 72 yellow school buses with special magnets highlighting Stop Traffick messages large enough for news helicopters to broadcast. These buses formed the world’s largest moving billboard, disrupting morning traffic across Atlanta.

To highlight the breadth of the problem, the buses drove a carefully planned route from a county in the suburbs, to a mall popular with kids, ending downtown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium where the Super Bowl would be played three weeks later.

The message was amplified citywide via other outdoor channels including highway billboards, car and store decals, and a rally with survivors, policy makers, and business leaders.