Home » Big Teddy Bear Leads Cast Of Toys In Fire Safety PSA For American Red Cross Via BBDO NY

23 April, 2021

Big Teddy Bear Leads Cast Of Toys In Fire Safety PSA For American Red Cross Via BBDO NY

The American Red Cross and BBDO New York have combined to create “a surreal” and playful public service announcement about fire safety, with human-sized dolls the stars of the commercial.

In the United States, seven lives are lost to home fires every day, representing a dark figure on deaths that is higher than all natural disasters “combined”, according to the American Red Cross.

To change these statistics, the non-profit is launching ‘The Great Escape’, a PSA aimed at educating families on home fire safety.

Headlined by an online commercial, the PSA aims to prepare families with two simple steps: practicing a two-minute fire drill and testing smoke alarms monthly.

To bring this message to life, the work—directed by Noam Murro and created in partnership with BBDO New York—features a somewhat surreal universe where toys have come alive.

The cast of characters that includes a massive teddy bear and a troupe of three other toys are practicing a timely evacuation from their dollhouse, in a scene we later realise is a figment of a child’s imagination.

It represents a creative departure for the non-profit, which typically invokes a more serious or deep tone in its work, and will run online with social and digital executions.

These digital executions include GIFs and short-form TikTok videos, including a duet race people can participate in to see if they can get out of their house faster than the character.

Credits for the campaign are as follows:

Client: American Red Cross

Chief marketing and communications officer: Rosemary McGillan

VP, marketing strategy and creative services: Selma Bouhl

Senior director, social engagement: Megan Weiler

Director, brand marketing and advertising: Donna Messersmith

Director, brand marketing: Chris Andrews

Creative agency: BBDO New York, USA

Global chief creative officer: David Lubars

SVP, creative director: Roberto Danino

SVP, creative director: Anne Lac

SVP, creative director: Gary Du Toit

SVP, creative director: Lance Vining

Copywriter (social): Ryan Sheehy

Copywriter (social): Emma Wren

Art director (social): Tamara Yakov

SVP, group executive producer: Alex Gianni

Associate producer: Jason Guzman

Music producer: Julia Millison

Business affairs manager: Kathleen Bannon

Account manager: Sam Henderson

Senior strategic planner: Alexandra Britt

Production company: Biscuit Filmworks

Director: Noam Murro

Partner/managing director: Shawn Lacy

Executive producer: Andrew Travelstead

Producer: Emily Skinner

Head of production: Sean Moody

Director of photography: Eric Schmidt

Production designer: Brock Houghton

Production supervisor: Jennifer Berry

Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors East

Managing director: Eve Kornblum

Producer: Lisa Barnable

Editor: Paul Hardcastle

Assistant editor: Tom Mika

Flame producer: Barbara Kontarovich

Flame artist: Edward Reina

Colour: Primary

Colourist: Daniel DeVue

Executive producer: Thatcher Peterson

Producer: Jenny Bright

Mix: Heard City

Mixer: Tom Morris

Producer: Andi Lewis

Executive producer: Sasha Awn, Jackie James

Managing director: Gloria Pitagorsky

Music: Human

Composer: John Christopher Barnes

Creative lead: Morgan Visconti

Executive producer: James Dean Wells

Featured image source: YouTube/American Red Cross

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