Monica Lewinsky Launches Powerful "The Epidemic" Campaign & PSA for October's Anti-Bullying Month

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Social activist, global public speaker, and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor Monica Lewinsky announces the launch today of "The Epidemic", her latest anti-bullying campaign. Following the success of her previous campaigns - the 2017's Emmy nominated "In Real Life" and 2018's "#DefyTheName," - this year's PSA impactfully builds on their earlier work, tackling the issue of online bullying which has reached epidemic proportions.

"The Epidemic" presents viewers with an average American teenager, Hailey, as she shows symptoms of a mysterious illness. But there's more than meets the eye. After watching the film, viewers will be prompted to enter their phone number. They will then watch the film again, but this time they'll receive the same bullying text messages as Hailey receives them throughout the story. The text messages will reveal the true epidemic taking place. Mixing the mediums of video and text, the spot illuminates how digital transgressions like cyberbullying can have very dire, real life consequences.

Please visit the-epidemic.com to experience this year's campaign. Trigger Warning: The PSA includes content & imagery that some may find upsetting. (Please note: we ask that if you share the PSA/website, please try to not spoil the interactive twist. Thank you.) The PSA was directed by Cole Webley and produced by Sanctuary (http://www.sanctuarycontent.com/).

BBDO New York, the award-winning ad agency, created the pro bono piece, working closely with Ms. Lewinsky, and her award-winning public relations firm Dini von Mueffling Communications, to increase awareness around the growing epidemic of cyberbullying. Just last year the Pew Research Center found that 59 percent of US teens have been bullied or harassed online. And UNICEF reports that one in three young people in 30 countries have been victims of cyberbullying and one in five say they've skipped school to avoid online harassment and violence.

"I'm very proud of this campaign's innovative approach to storytelling," shares Ms. Lewinsky. "Bullying is a global epidemic and the signs can often be hard to see, since so much of it takes place online. But make no mistake; there are real, offline consequences that range from bad to grave. With "The Epidemic" we're working to build vital awareness, help people learn empathy through experience and remind anyone who is being bullied: please don't suffer in silence."

"Most teens experience cyberbullying on their phones, so we wanted to create something that really brought that to life" said Roberto Danino, Creative Director at BBDO. "To stay authentic to the cyberbullying experience, we used text messages that were inspired by real online bullying. This way the viewer not only understands what it feels like, but also its harsh consequences," adds Bianca Guimaraes, VP Creative Director at BBDO.

"Online bullying and harassment are, as the campaign is titled, an epidemic. It is our fervent hope that by having audiences experience for a few seconds what someone living through it must deal with, we can help change this behavior which is having dire consequences for our country's youth," said Dini von Mueffling, founder and CEO of Dini von Mueffling Communications. "It is a distinct privilege to amplify Monica's brilliant voice and work with our extraordinary creative partner BBDO."

This year's campaign gratefully supports the following orgs: The Amanda Todd Legacy, The Childhood Resilience Foundation, Crisis Text Line, Defeat The Label, The Diana Award, Ditch The Label, Organization for Social Media Safety, Sandy Hook Promise, Sit With Us, Think Before You Type, and The Tyler Clementi Foundation

"The Epidemic" is the first PSA that marries the traditional format of video with an interactive text element to allow viewers to fully understand the impact of online bullying on the recipient. The campaign is a reminder to the viewer: you never know what someone is going through; there's so much we don't see when it comes to online harassment; digital actions have real life consequences. Treat everyone with compassion.

www.the-epidemic.com offers resources for those who struggle to know what to say when they observe someone – friend or stranger—being cyberbullied and harassed. Sample messaging (ex: "I saw what happened. I'm so sorry. I hope you're ok") and links to organizations that can help are also provided. Suicide is preventable. If you need to talk with someone, text Crisis Text Line, 24/7, by sending "HELP" to 741741 or visit https://www.crisistextline.org/theepidemic.

ABOUT MONICA LEWINSKY
Monica Lewinsky is a social activist, a global public speaker, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and soon to be a producer on Ryan Murphy's upcoming American Crime Story: Impeachment. She advocates for a safer social media environment and addresses such topics as digital resilience + reputation, privacy, cultivating compassion, overcoming shame, and equality. In 2014, Lewinsky authored an essay, titled "Shame and Survival", for Vanity Fair in which she overlapped personal experiences and cultural observations (June 2014). The piece was nominated for a National Magazine Award. In March 2015, she was a speaker at the annual TED Conference in Vancouver (over 16 million views). She has also spoken at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit and gave the Ogilvy + Inspire Lecture at Cannes Lions. Monica is a founding board member of The Childhood Resilience Foundation, sits on the advisory board of Project Rockit, and is an Ambassador for The Diana Award's Anti-Bullying Program, as well as supporting numerous other organizations in the space.

ABOUT BBDO
BBDO's mantra is "The Work. The Work. The Work." Every day, BBDO people in 289 offices in 81 countries work day by day, job by job and client by client to create and deliver the world's most compelling commercial content. For 13 years in a row, BBDO has been ranked the most creative agency network in the world and for seven years, BBDO has been named Network of the Year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – more than any other agency network. This past year, the independent World Advertising Research Center (WARC) named BBDO the "Best of the Best" in its first-ever index of excellence, aggregating results from its Creative 100, Effective 100 and Media 100 rankings. BBDO has been chosen Agency of the Year multiple times by the leading industry trade publications, including being named one of the world's top ten most innovative companies in advertising for the past two years.

BBDO is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company.

ABOUT DINI VON MUEFFLING COMMUNICATIONS
Dini von Mueffling Communications (DVMC) is an award-winning communications agency based in New York that was recently honored with the PR Week award for Global Impact. With a fierce commitment to social change, DVMC devotes a third of its practice to social justice issues including gun violence prevention, elevating women leaders, online harassment, bullying, shaming, alleviating medical debt, and more. It is well known for its multiple awards-winning work with Monica Lewinsky and Sandy Hook Promise, which has garnered the agency 15 Cannes Lions, many Webbys and an Emmy nomination. DVMC also works with notable clients in the fields of technology, art, design, finance, books, wellness and high-profile individuals. More at www.DVMCPR.com

Dini von Mueffling Communications
Dini von Mueffling / Daniel Lempert
[email protected] / [email protected]
646-650-5218

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SOURCE Monica Lewinsky