CAUSE MARKETING

Like most ad people, I know I’m not changing the world slinging cruises or credit cards. So I tend to get extra passionate about projects that can actually benefit people and society. Throughout my career, I’ve sought out opportunities to promote important social causes, and I’m proud my work has had a measurable positive impact. Here are a few highlights.

USA PARALYMPICS

Many sports fans don’t watch the Paralympics because they don’t think of Paralympians as “real” athletes. To combat this stigma, I wrote the campaign line “Show the World,” challenging sports fans to discover and share the excitement of the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games. The campaign was a massive success: #ShowTheWorld was soon adopted as the unofficial hashtag of the entire Paralympics, used by organizations, athletes, brands, and fans.

LAUNCH FILM
I wrote a film in which Paralympians challenge viewers to use their devices for good. It was featured in People.

SOCIAL – PASS THE TORCH
Olympians sent messages of support to their Paralympian counterparts to “Show The World” the Paralympic Games were about to begin.

MEME OPENING GAMES
To get people to spread the word on our tiny budget, we creatively hijacked the very language of the Internet: memes. We worked with Giphy to flood the Internet with Team USA versions of the most popular memes and gifs for people to use. And they did. 40 million times in the first week of competition, raising awareness in a way paid media couldn’t.

GIFS WITH SOUND
To be more inclusive for our visually impaired audience, we created some of the first-ever audio-enabled memes.

DRUGFREE.ORG

Drugs lead to self-destructive behaviors and can take away everything you’ve worked for – including yourself.

PARENTS EMPOWERED

Funded by the Utah Legislature, Parents Empowered is a media campaign to eliminate underage drinking. Our research found that kids are less likely to drink when parents are actively involved in their lives and communicate their strong disapproval of drinking before the age of 21. So I wrote this spot.

CHILDREN’S BUREAU

After developing several ad-like concepts for Children’s Bureau, a foster and adoption service, I realized letting parents speak for themselves would be more powerful. We spent days interviewing parents for the audio, then shot “living portraits” of the families to create beautiful, emotional films. We then cut shorter films to share across social media.