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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