Covid-19 Campaign Highlights

About the Covid-19 Campaigns

This past Spring, undergraduate students in the Department of Media, Culture and Communication at the Steinhardt School of New York University created ad campaigns that addressed social issues around the coronavirus. They chose to communicate messages of hope, handwashing, workers' rights, racial disparities, domestic violence, animal adoption, the environment and of course, "Staying the F^% Home." The students used the advertising techniques learned in the first half of the class to create better, more relevant messages designed to standout in an oversaturated media landscape.

The students crafted these "social good" campaigns while sheltering-in-place in the US, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Egypt and China, and attending class and team meetings remotely. They were working in real time, responding to the pandemic while in the midst of it. They challenged themselves to engage their audiences in novel ways using Tik-Tok, Animal Crossing, and even SpongeBob SquarePants.

This showcase celebrates these students' creativity with eleven of the top campaigns, selected from two sections of Advertising Campaigns, a course taught by Jean Railla.

Special thanks to MCC spring 2020 graduate Megan Liao for creating the site.

AFL-CIO Ad Campaign

AFL-CIO

My campaign redefines what it means to be an essential worker and emphasizes that no job is too small. As a federation of over 55 unions, I chose the American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). I am proud of creating a campaign that feels both genuine and important.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

We chose to tap into the existing excitement and obsession over the Animal Crossing: New Horizons game by examining how players use it as a way to stay connected to friends and host virtual gatherings. We built an event update that would allow players to help a character in need while also learning various health protocols related to COVID-19.

Child Mind Institute

Mental health is an urgent issue facing families during this pandemic. In an effort to challenge to help, I crafted messages to guide parents towards more positive behaviors while validating their real feelings of frustration, anger and overwhelm.

Corey Johnson

Corey Johnson, NYC Council Speaker

Our team created a campaign centered around New York City’s essential workers—a group of people who kept moving while the city came to a stop. Partnering with NYC Council Speaker, Corey Johnson, we say to all essential workers "New York Loves You."

Egyptian Animals Rescue

While in Egypt, my home country, I crafted this campaign in order to raise awareness about pet's rights and during the pandemic. This project is very close to my heart as it addresses a topic I have advocated for several years. I am proud of my Petsonas and #Pawmble platform.

H.E.L.P.

My campaign highlights the racial disparities at play during the pandemic. I chose to focus on H.E.L.P., a coalition put together by Elizabeth Warren and Ro Khanna, to pass the Essential Workers Bill of Rights.

Nickelodeon

Sponge Bob Square Pants has a long history of being a funny and uplifting show on Nickelodeon. Given its popularity, we decided to use Sponge Bob characters to communicate with kids during this pandemic.

NYSDOH

New York State Department of Health

Most public service announcements (PSA's) are boring and easy to ignore. The Covid-19 PSA's distributed by the New York State Department of Health are no exception. Given the importance of good hygiene during the pandemic, we decided to craft a series of visually appealing messages that would grab NY'ers attention

Sierra Club

One of the upsides of Covid-19 has been the marked improvement in air quality and the environment. In order to highlight this positive fact and encourage everyone to make actions towards ending climate destruction, our campaign for The Sierra Club imagines a brighter future.

TikTok

Our ad for Tik-Tok models the fun and creativity even adults can have while staying at home while making and sharing Tik-Tok videos. Our ad showcases different types of people doing their part to take care of the greater good by sheltering in place.

U.S. Olympic Committee

US Olympic Committee

Coivid-19 has created a massive shift in all of our lives. Even among the chaos and uncertainty, there are endless sources of inspiration and strength being embodied by the those working tirelessly on the frontlines. The Olympic committee was a natural fit for an organization that honors this kind of hard work and determination and my print ads honor and respect this display of perseverance and championship that is giving us a chance at a healthier future.