Making school make sense.
In summer 2024, the Government of British Columbia was on the cusp of restricting cell phones across public schools. We had to convince 48% of the public that this was the right move.
I developed the creative strategy founded on a simple, irrefutable truth: school is easier without phone distractions. Smartphones and connected devices themselves aren’t problematic. They do become a problem when they distract students from learning in the classroom.
The creative expressed this insight by bringing the language of phone notifications into lessons to prove that
school doesn’t make sense with phone distractions.
Distractions are distracting.
The insight came to life by merging the language of online notifications into lessons.
The campaign doesn’t vilify smartphones, make teachers enforcers, point fingers at or patronize students.
The result was a lighthearted and memorable campaign that cut through back-to-school clutter to deliver an important message.
Proof in the platform.
TikTok “sludge content” combines different types of content side-by-side to increase view time and engagement.
We used this content format as inspiration to reach students where they’re spending time, reinforcing our message that it’s impossible to focus on two things simultaneously.
