Arlington, VA - This month marks the 30th Anniversary of an American pop-culture icon, McGruff the Crime Dog.® In celebration of this landmark, The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) and Saatchi & Saatchi New York will unveil a brand new animated short to teach a whole new generation of children how to “Take A Bite Out of Crime”.
McGruff’s mission will be to help children prevent one of the most common issues they face – bullying. Michelle Boykins, Director of Communications and Marketing for the NCPC, points to alarming statistics that inspired the strategy behind the new campaign. “Our research has found that 160,000 kids miss school every day out of fear of being bullied.” Boykins adds, “The recent cases of young people who have tragically ended their lives because they were so badly bullied are yet another painful example that this is a real problem in America.”
“Stop, Talk & Walk” is the essential advice that McGruff doles out to a young girl in the story. The five-minute video follows the story of a young girl who is afraid to go to ballet class, for fear of being bullied. The animated short, “Samantha’s Choice” was written and designed to pay homage to the classic McGruff, while giving him an updated look and feel. This new animated short marks the third generation of children to receive advice from the Crime Dog.
The story borrows the feel of a noir detective drama, lending a serious tone to the issue kids face. “This is a scary thing for kids,” says Manny Galan, who co-directed the spot with Pat Giles, both Creative Directors at Saatchi & Saatchi. “We treated it like something that needs attention from a heroic figure.” McGruff is approached by a distraught mom, Miss Terry, whose daughter Samantha is being bullied. She pleads with McGruff to take her case. McGruff’s nephew Scruff also makes a return, and is given a major makeover. His role is to show kids that standing by and watching others being bullied is not okay either. He helps McGruff figure out Samantha’s problem.
The team made every attempt to avoid being too preachy, and to keep the story interesting for kids. “We knew that if our audience caught us talking down to them, we wouldn’t be effective,” says Adam Kline, who wrote the screenplay. “So while we treated the subject earnestly, we always tried to inject some comedy.”
Working with the Ad Council, Saatchi & Saatchi began their 30-year relationship with the NCPC back in the late 1970s to create McGruff. “We are all really proud to be part of building on his legend,” says Giles. “We had a blast creating the world McGruff lives in, and adding new characters. You even get to see the inside of his office.”
NCPC is distributing this video, complete with accompanying “movie posters,” to young people through its vast network of law enforcement, criminal justice, and community outreach professionals. In addition, NCPC intends to distribute the video to schools this Fall. The animated short and movie posters are part of the NCPC’s “Circle of Respect” program, which aims to help kids learn how to handle conflict by using the concept of respect. In recent research, NCPC found that kids 8 to 17 do not know how to act respectfully and have experienced bullying at one time or another.
To learn more about Circle of Respect and to share the new McGruff video check out www.circleofrespect.org
Guillermo Vega, multi-award winning CCO of Saatchi & Saatchi London, is a man in a hurry. His career includes setting up and growing W+K Sao Paulo from 3 to 100 employees in 4 years. He talks about learning to be patient, the Super London way.
Tide 2021 Superbowl spot: Saatchi & Saatchi New York
Publicis Groupe hires Natalie Lam
Daniel Lobatón is the first chief creative to be promoted from within at Saatchi & Saatchi New York.
Launched in 2012, Team One’s The Legacy Lab™ is a thought-leadership platform exploring the dynamics of long-term brand building in a short-term world. The Legacy Lab has researched influential brands including The Bluebird Cafe, It Gets Better Project, Girls Who Code, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, The Championships, Wimbledon and Taylor Guitars among others, and publishes many of its learnings online.…
Saatchi & Saatchi London has hired Guillermo Vega, the former ECD of 72andSunny New York, as its Chief Creative Officer. Joining on October 1, Vega will lead the agency’s creative department and build on its existing creative success. His appointment completes the Saatchi & Saatchi London management team, alongside Sam Hawkey (Chief Operating Officer), Richard Huntington (Chief Strategy Officer) and…
Cannes Lions 2018 saw Saatchi & Saatchi offices around the network pick up a total of 17 awards. The wins were split across Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand, Saatchi & Saatchi Germany and F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi Brazil. Winning clients were Tide, National Down Syndrome Society, Toyota, Elanco, Sadia and the…
SKS365, a leading international betting company, has chosen Saatchi & Saatchi Italy, led by CEO Simone Masè, to handle the creative account for its sports betting and gaming brand, PlanetWin365.
Today Saatchi & Saatchi announces taking the pledge, and joining Free the Bid as a global network.
Publicis One Croatia today announces the appointment of three award-winning creative talents to Saatchi & Saatchi, promoting growth and creative excellence goals in Croatia and throughout the Adriatic. The three new appointments, who have extensive creative experience, will spearhead a re-energizing process of the agency in Croatia. Appointed are Ivan Tanić, who joins as Creative Director, Nebojša Cvetković as Art…
Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand has been appointed as Tourism Fiji’s global brand agency of record, following a selection process and creative pitch that began in mid 2017. Saatchi & Saatchi will lead the creation of a revitalised brand platform and global campaign to attract visitors to Fiji from all over the world, focusing on key markets – Australia, New…
Kraft Heinz China recently appointed Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai as their lead creative agency in China for all Kraft Heinz brand categories. Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai won this business after a fierce multi-way pitch against other agencies over the past months. Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai will lead creative services for all brands under the Kraft Heinz China umbrella. This covers…
Saatchi New York’s “It’s a Tide Ad” campaign for Super Bowl LII got the stamp of approval from a group of top advertising creatives today, winning the Super Clio, honoring the game’s best work.
Saatchi & Saatchi London have been named ‘The Best and Bravest Agency on the Planet’ by Contagious Magazine after topping their 2018 Contagious Pioneers agency rankings. The list recognises the top ten agencies round the world who consistently set the standard for creativity, innovation and excellence in marketing. The Contagious Pioneers list is based on an analysis of the Contagious I/O intelligence…
