Gritty ads make domestic violence prevention everyone’s responsibility

The visuals are so compelling, you stop breathing. 

Battered women’s faces, tears streaming down their cheeks.

Duct tape covers their mouths, stifling their cries for help.

The message is stark and clear and immediate. You must become their voice. You must get them help. You must pick up the phone and call police. Or else their torment, their brutalization, will never end.

The TV ad campaign, called “Speak Out!” and created and aired by the Edmonton Police Service, encourages friends, neighbors, acquaintances, even passers-by to make that call.

The gut-wrenching project is PR Daily’s 2013 Video Awards winner for Best TV Advertising Campaign. 

Each video is short, just 15 seconds. The brevity makes the message all the stronger. Fifteen seconds could make such a difference in an abuse victim’s life.

We congratulate the Edmonton Police Service—notably Scott Pattison, EPS media relations, and Jared Robinson, EPS digital media—for their stewardship of this potent and courageous campaign.

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