I Am 988
988 is the nation's crisis line — call, text, or chat, and a real person picks up. In an era of slashed budgets and over looked social programs, the Minnesota Department of Health needed fresh creative to connect Minnesotans with the real specialists.
For Anyone // 06sec
Anecdotal // 30sec
Bryan // 06sec
Friends & Neighbors won the MN Dept. of Health's 988 account with a video CR helped concept, shoot, and cut for their pitch. They brought us back to make the real thing: MDH's first large-scale statewide push for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, after years of keeping promotion deliberately quiet while the state's call centers built enough capacity to answer.
What the work had to do:
- Make 988 feel like a movement people were already part of, not the health dept. announcing a phone number.
- Manage sensitive safe messaging conversations and deliverable guidelines.
- Cover broadcast, CTV, paid and organic social, radio, print and OOH out of one production budget.
- Fit fifteen subjects into a single production day ensuring enough time for wardrobe, hair, makeup, stills and interview capture.
F&N wanted the faces of the campaign to be actual 988 specialists and real 988 advocates. So we built the day around protecting people rather than directing them. We ran parallel motion and stills setups and separated talent in 30-minute intervals. Our director, McKade, opted to use the Eyedirect rig to ensure talent could hold the lens while looking a real person in the eye. He also insisted on essential crew only in the interview studio. And before any of that, the whole crew sat through MDH's safe messaging training, the same one they ask of every partner who touches this type of work.
100+ deliverables across the campaign from a single shoot day. A year after the initial launch MDH decided to extend the campaign beyond its initial two year run and distribute the creative assets to other 988 departments nationwide.
“Current Resident is the real deal at every level, with the expertise, leadership, creative savvy and above-and-beyond humanity. More than a vendor, a true partner.”
— Scott Muskin, Creative Director, Friends & Neighbors
You’re…
- A small agency concepting on a new biz pitch and could use some production thinking before the work is sold through
- A comms or brand team trying to make a critical public health message feel human, not institutional
- Working toward a hard traffic date with one idea that needs to carry across broadcast, digital, and out-of-home
You need…
- A production partner who can get involved early, pressure-test the idea, and help figure out how to make it
- Creative that handles sensitive subject matter with care without fading into the background
- A campaign idea with enough legs to work across the entire media plan
Sound familiar? Let's talk.
Made by Good People
Crew
- Director
- Mckade Riedman
- EP
- Patrick Shelton
- Line Producer
- Tanya Silver
- DP
- Kellen Witschen
- 1st AC
- Brian Suerth
- Wardrobe Stylist
- Cindy Warner
- Wardrobe Asst.
- Leonardo Guarin
- Hair / Makeup
- Ashlee Ellert Fearing
- Gaffer
- Justin Meredith
- Swing
- Mario Howard
- Photographer
- Chris McDuffie
- Sound Mixer
- Nick Leisenheimer
- PA
- Thomas Leon
- PA
- Amy Banken
- PA
- Ritchie Sturm
- Head of Post
- Chaddix Malchow
- Editor
- Chaddix Malchow
- Editor
- Mckade Riedman
- EP Animation
- Michael Van Swearingen
- Animator
- Peter Steineck
- Motion Graphics Asst.
- Pete Stude
- Colorist
- Chaddix Malchow
- Sound Design & Mix
- Connor McLevish
- 988 Specialist
- Bryan Vasquez
- 988 Specialist
- Rob Nicholson
- 988 Specialist
- Parker Roth
- 988 Specialist
- Liz Garrido
- 988 Specialist
- Darin Wait
- 988 Specialist
- Jonathan Richards
- Talent
- Tammy Brice
- Talent
- Danah Cleaton
- Talent
- Jack Bennett
- Talent
- Tou Yang
- Talent
- Nola McErlane
- Talent
- Mina Lavalier
- Talent
- Hector Torres
- VO Talent
- Ashante Timoll
Vendors
- Casting
- JR Casting
- Voice Casting
- Voices.com
- Talent Agency
- Agency Models And Talent
- Talent Agency
- Meredith Agency
- Talent Agency
- Caryn Models
- Animation Studio
- Modular Studios
Hide // 15sec
Danah // 15sec