2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

When we think of the risk of child predators, we think of a stranger on the fringes of a park or a monster lurking in a dark alley. But the reality is that predators have a new way in – through a child’s cell phone. 71% of kids have a phone by age 12, given by parents who want to keep them safe. The unfortunate reality is that cell phones instead open the door to a child’s bedroom, as unregulated online platforms allow predators to make contact behind the shield of social media.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection wanted to create a memorable PSA that broke through the noise and dismantled the idea of a phone as a device that protects children.

Enter: “The Horse”, a slow and unnerving spot that distills the feelings that keep every parent up at night into a single, drawn-out shot of the inside of a home.

These visuals are layered with voiceover that tells the story of the Trojan Horse, a story so famous it has become shorthand for concealing true intentions. In the TV spot, the agency leverage that instant connection to contextualize the massive scale of this problem and drive home the magnitude of what society is facing online.

The contrast between the intimacy of the home visuals and the mythic, grand narration of the Trojan Horse show the multiplicity of the issue, that it’s one we have to fight as a family and as a country.

They slowly glide down a hallway in a family home at night while an omniscient narrator recounts the myth of the Trojan Horse. There’s a lingering sense of unease, as the audio ramps up in tension but the visuals stay steady and constant. Suspense is built as the viewer searches for danger in a home where nothing is happening. And then a phone buzzes on a child’s nightstand, lighting up the room – because the danger isn’t in the shadows of the home. Today’s modern Trojan Horse is concealed in the brightness of our screens.

On a limited budget, they successfully raised awareness and alerted parents to the dangers children now face within the supposed safety of their homes. The campaign resonated with parents, Canadians, and media alike, garnering 14 million earned media impressions, including global pickup across Sweden, the UK, Finland, Germany, the US, and Austria. This led to over 380K website visits with an average time on site of over two minutes which is 3 times the norm.

The video and website were leveraged by 18 Canadian Law Enforcement Agencies who shared the campaign’s initiative across their owned channels. “The Horse” proved to be one small but successful step in the fight to protect children in an ever-changing media landscape.

Credits

Agency: No Fixed Address Inc.
Chief Creative Officers: Alexis Bronstorph, Kelsey Horne
Sr. Copywriter: Allegra Wiesenfeld
Sr. Art Director: Reid Plaxton
Account Director: Abby Tile
Strategist, Cass Cervi
EVP, Head of Strategy, NFA CA, Zach Klein
Co-Founder and CEO, Dave Lafond
VP Broadcast Production: Cherie O’Connor
Agency Producer: Spencer J. Houghton

Production Services Provider: Animals TV
Director: Meredith Hama-Brown
Director of Photography: Norm Li
Production Designer: Zosia Mackenzie
Executive Producers: Chris Hutsul, Miriana DiQuinzio
Head of Production - Liam Benstead
Sr. Producer: Gillian Marr

Offline Editorial: Saints Editorial
Editor: Ross Birchall
Assistant Editor: Phoebe Lorimer
Executive Producer: Tory Osler

Transfer/Online House: Darling VFX
Colourist: Patrick Samaniego
Colour Assistant: Eric Kingsbury
Online Artist: Alyssa Schmidt
Executive Producer: Morgan Campbell
Producer: Will Culverwell

Audio: Berkeley Inc.
EP: Tyna Maerzke
Creative Director: Jared Kuemper
Song: Chukhung by Biosphere