Change the Ref / United States / 2021PR Stunts · Film
The Lost Class.
Gun-safety group Change the Ref invited former NRA president David Keene to give a graduation speech at a Las Vegas high school. He walked on stage to face thousands of empty chairs.
- Brand
- Change the Ref
- Agency
- Leo Burnett Chicago
- Market
- United States
- Region
- Global
- Year
- 2021
The challenge
More than 3,000 students did not graduate that year because they had been killed by gun violence. Change the Ref, founded by Manuel and Patricia Oliver after their son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland shooting, wanted the gun lobby to face that loss.
The idea
Keene believed he was addressing graduates of James Madison Academy. Instead he faced rows of empty seats standing for the students lost to guns. Bryan Buckley of Hungry Man directed the anthem film that turned the footage into the campaign.
Case study source: SHOOT Source ↗
Awards
- Cannes Lions 2022Social & Influencer – A09 NOT-FOR-PROFIT / CHARITY / GOVERNMENTSilver
- Cannes Lions 2022Titanium – A01 TITANIUMTitanium
- Cannes Lions 2022PR – A09 NOT-FOR-PROFIT / CHARITY / GOVERNMENTGold
- Cannes Lions 2022Sustainable Development Goals – D01 PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONSSilver
- Cannes Lions 2022Film Craft – A08 ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTIONBronze
- Cannes Lions 2022PR – D02 USE OF EVENTS & STUNTSGold
- Cannes Lions 2022Social & Influencer – D02 SOCIAL FILMGold
- Cannes Lions 2022Social & Influencer – C03 INNOVATIVE USE OF INFLUENCERSBronze
- Cannes Lions 2022Film – B09 NOT-FOR-PROFIT / CHARITY / GOVERNMENTGold
Credits
- Creative agency
- Leo Burnett Chicago
- Production
- Hungry Man
- Additional company
- Unicorns & Unicorns
- Post-production
- No. 6
- Post-production
- Primary
- Additional company
- Beacon Street
- Additional company
- Parliament
- PR
- Tusk Strategies
- PR
- MSL
- Activist and Co-Founder, Change the Ref
- Manuel Oliver
- Activist and Co-Founder, Change the Ref
- Patricia Oliver
- Global Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide
- Liz Taylor
- CEO, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Andrew Swinand
- EVP, Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Sam Shepherd
- VP, Creative Director, Art, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Sean Hannaway
- VP, Design Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Kyle Poff
- Associate Creative Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Jason LaFlore
- Associate Creative Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Matt Turnier
- Copywriter, Leo Burnett Chicago
- MacKenzie Hart
- Art Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Sofia Gahn
- Junior Copywriter, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Kelley Barrett
- Junior Art Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Katie DiNardo
- EVP, Head of Production, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Mike Davidson
- SVP, Executive Producer, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Ashley Geisheker
- Associate Producer, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Kaitlin Bucaro
- SVP, Director, Production Operations, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Michael Shanahan
- Production Manager, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Julie Lewandowski
- VP, Account Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Amy Walloch
- Head of Planning, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Kaylin Goldstein
- VP, Strategy Director, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Nimisha Jain
- Strategist, Leo Burnett Chicago
- Sean Logan
- Director, Hungry Man
- Bryan Buckley
- Director of Photography, Hungry Man
- Scott Henriksen
- Executive Producer, Unicorns & Unicorns
- Adrianne McCurrach
- Technical Creative Director, Unicorns & Unicorns
- Sun Komen
- Editor, No. 6
- Jason Macdonald
- Colorist, Primary
- Gregory Reese
- Music, Beacon Street
- Andrew Feltenstein
- Music, Beacon Street
- John Nau
- Founder/ECD, Parliament
- Phil Crowe
- Head of Communications and Managing Director, Tusk Strategies
- Jackie Zupsic
