No More - #listeningfromhome
Suddenly the world went into lockdown due to COVID-19. Home was supposed to be a safe place, but for victims of domestic violence, lockdown meant being trapped with their abusers, 24 hours a day. As a result, across the country and the world, incidents of domestic abuse rose exponentially.
The NO MORE Foundation -- a nonprofit dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence by increasing awareness, inspiring action and fueling culture change -- sought to heighten awareness of domestic violence in this moment and encourage people to safely get help if they experience, hear or observe incidents of abuse. NO MORE enlisted MRM UK to create a campaign that would get the message out quickly and effectively.
Like with COVID-19, the signs of domestic violence are not always visible. However, since people were home more, they might have heard more coming from their neighbors’ homes than usual. NO MORE wanted to engage those people as allies in the effort to stop the epidemic of domestic violence— at that critical moment, as well as beyond the immediate crisis.
NO MORE is encouraging everyone to listen for abuse and, if necessary, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline if you want advice, and call the police if you hear somebody getting hurt, or if you think their life is at risk. Please, share this message with all your friends and contacts—so that the abusers know we are watching and their actions will not go unnoticed.
MRM first created a social media campaign. Given the urgency of the effort and the limitations of the pandemic lockdown, there was no time to shoot new photography, but MRM UK found images that represented the diverse spectrum of potential victims of abuse. A production company, Great Guns, had 40 directors work on treatments for the PSA and they sent options back in two days. The selected film concept was produced in only 10 days, despite the difficult circumstances of lockdown measures. The Director directed the spot remotely over FaceTime. The Director of Photography shot from his car and his housemates served as the talent, filming in their own home. It was all captured in one long, dramatic shot.
It was critical to NO MORE to clearly point people to the resources available to get involved and get help. In the U.S. NO MORE teamed up with the National Domestic Violence Hotline to include The Hotline (1-800-799-7233) in the spot, posters and social media content. In the U.K., the audience was directed to find local support through the Bright Sky App. Viewers were also directed to call the police in case of an emergency and to learn more about all forms of abuse at nomore.org.
In order to reach the widest audience possible, NO MORE sought to create partnerships for the campaign. They were able to enlist the NFL Network, Univision and Lamar billboards pro bono to run the PSA and posters in the U.S. They also teamed with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to share the campaign in pharmacies throughout the U.K. NO MORE and MRM also worked on a publicity effort to garner more awareness of the effort.
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