Public Service

Spreading Hope

Helping stop the spread of COVID‑19 in underserved communities

Photograph of two men spraypainting graffiti on a wall.

Challenge

The urgency didn’t translate.

Social distancing is a critical part of stopping the spread of COVID‑19, but mass media PSAs weren’t reaching underserved populations, such as those in low-income, non-English-speaking, and hearing-impaired communities. We needed to get people to stay home, or at least six feet apart.

Photograph of signs for a testing site - "Windows up. ID on dashboard. Testing is by appointment only. Slow."

Approach

From concept to launch in just eight days.

We pulled together a hard-hitting bilingual campaign in record time. Radio and TV spots ran with time donated by local broadcasters, and an out-of-home blitz included tactics like posters and bus shelters, plus guerrilla tactics like spray-painted stencils on walls, sidewalks, and the front steps of apartment buildings.

Click to watch the Six Feet Saves video.
Photograph of a Six Feet Saves ad on a bus shelter.
Photograph of a Six Feet Saves marker spraypainted onto the concrete.
Photograph of Six Feet Saves messaging in Spanish.
Click to view the video for the Six Feet Saves mural.

With Gammut Productions, we partnered with local street artists, FUA, to bring the message to the neighborhood.

We made it free for anyone to use.

Our public health message applies to everyone, and this is literally about saving lives. So we made all campaign assets downloadable for anyone to use for free, anywhere in the country.

Click to view the Six Feet Saves "dominoes" video.

Results

Our neighbors stayed safe.

Monroe County stood apart for much of 2020 with notably low rates of COVID‑19 and minimal community spread. In October 2020, the county had the lowest rate of COVID‑19 in the U.S. among communities with more than 500,000 people.