Gender-based violence was rising in Canada, and there was no clear voice steering the discourse towards fostering healthy masculinities. A nimble but mighty organization born in response to the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, White Ribbon was the right organization to bring attention to this threat, but needed to find a way to reach the most at-risk audiences with their message.
This campaign speaks to Canadian youth, and it serves to empower them.
– MPP, Marci Ien (Ontario Minister of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth)
We took the most urgent issues facing healthy masculinity, such as the manosphere, transphobia, and high rates of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and built 5 years of annual PSA campaigns to draw awareness to these issues, and White Ribbon’s mission in helping to end them. Beginning in 2019 with “Boys Don’t Cry” and ending in 2025 with “My Friend Max Hate”, we took a limited production budget, and produced impactful pieces of films aimed at growing awareness, but most importantly, living on as educational resources globally.
As a result, White Ribbon grew from a national organization to a global thought-leader in the mission to end gender-based violence. The campaigns were leveraged by over 20 school boards across Canada as workshop tools. Organizations such as the Canadian Armed Forces and UNESCO featured the work. Over five years, $5M in funding was secured, and the films were utilized or showcased in more than 19 countries worldwide.