Why This Canadian Non-Profit Encourages Businesses to ‘Hire a Quitter’
For over two decades, in Ontario, Canada, a non-profit organisation called Oasis Movement (Oasis) has been quietly working to provide addiction recovery support and employment services for those in need. This has all been done with little to no fanfare and minimal marketing dollars - just good, honest hard work from people who care about making a difference in the lives of others.
However, there’s a lot to be said for good publicity. It raises social support, draws attention to crucial subjects, and, in the case of a topic like addiction, provides the opportunity for those with knowledge to advocate for destigmatisation - something that goes a long way for those looking to get back on their feet and move forward with their lives.
This is something that creative agency Juniper Park\TBWA (JP\TBWA) is keenly aware of. So, to help make some noise on behalf of the non-profit, the two worked together to launch ‘Hire a Quitter’. Consisting of four, 15-second animated spots that focus on the journey of those in recovery, alongside an updated logo and visual identity, the work emphasises the positive transformation of those helped by Oasis. The campaign implores employers to consider the fact that those with the wherewithal to recover from addiction undoubtedly have a lot of positive traits to offer in the workplace.
To find out more about the creation process, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with JP\TBWA managing director Adam Lang, associate creative director Derek Silveira, and the team from Oasis for a chat.
LBB> Seeing as this is a pro bono campaign, how did the relationship between the agency and Oasis Movement get started? And why was this something everyone was interested in doing?
Derek> It came from a holiday social event where the founder of Oasis (Takis Liris) met Adam. Adam was fascinated with the great work they were doing for their community, while equally shocked that they had never done anything to help raise awareness of the company’s offering. It was then that we realised it was ripe for our support.
Oasis> The campaign was something Oasis was interested in to help spread the word about our services and mission in a different way than just word of mouth and print media.
LBB> And please tell us more about Oasis! How do you help Ontarians with addiction recovery and employment support?
Oasis> Oasis was founded in 1993 and started as a safe meeting place for people in recovery. However, over the years, the programmes and services have grown to serve our community and people with a variety of needs and income streams. We offer a drop-in relapse prevention group, wraparound support and pre-employment programs for Ontario Works recipients, job search and life skill programming for ODSP recipients, employment support, and one-to-one job search support for all job seekers, through Employment Ontario.
LBB> Building on this, what was the brief, and what immediate ideas came to mind?
Oasis> We were hoping to achieve an impactful and innovative message of hope and recovery to our potential clients, in order to help lift the stigma addiction has on individuals and present the positive attributes of recovery.
Derek> We took our time crafting this brief, meeting with employees and individuals Oasis was helping so we could fully understand their impact. That’s when we began to understand that the people they were working with who were in recovery are some of the strongest and most resilient people we had ever met. That’s where the ‘hire a quitter’ concept came from.
LBB> How did working pro bono impact the creative ideation process, if at all? And specifically, why were four 15-second spots the right way to spread attention and draw awareness to this important cause?
Derek> Like every pro-bono project, you’re working with budget constraints, and you have to consider that people’s time and talent is often being donated. With this in mind, the plan was to keep our executions simple.
As for the decision to create four 15-second shorts, that really just came down to picking favourites. We started with a lot of different stories and narrowed them down to the most compelling!
LBB> The spots themselves are heartfelt! What was the writing process like, and how did you approach simplifying the addiction recovery path while still meaningfully addressing the sensitive nature of the subject?
Derek> Because the people at Oasis had shared personal stories to help inspire the writing of these, we wanted to make sure that they were all based in truth to really resonate with people working through addiction recovery. However, the hard part was that the real-life stories can be very complicated, and we needed to find a way to keep these as succinct as possible, while still getting the message across. To do so, in each spot, we focused on two pivotal moments, starting with a person in the beginning of their recovery process, then transitioning ahead to a positive change in their life brought on by employment.
LBB> And why was animation the right medium for this? Who did you work with, and why were they the right people for the job?
Derek> We loved the idea of animation for a bunch of reasons. For a start, it let us keep the heavy nature of the subject matter light and approachable. It also opened the door to create transitions that showed the transformation of our characters in a quick and interesting way. Finally, it was also budget-friendly and helped us create a really unique look and feel for Oasis.
The company we worked with was AIM out of Portugal. We chose the team because we loved their animation style and knew they would be able hit the tone we were looking for.
LBB> What was the creation process like? How did the spots come to life?
Derek The process was super collaborative between us, our clients, the animation company, and our audio partners at TA2 Sound + Music. We wanted to keep briefs short and sweet to make sure that vendors had a lot of room to play and do what they do best.
LBB> Speaking of TA2, the soundtrack across each spot is quite memorable. How did this element come to life?
Derek> TA2 did an amazing job of coming up with the soundtrack for these. We showed them the boards and asked them to compose something that complemented the simplicity of the spots, and punctuate the very different emotions at each with a seamless transition. They nailed it!
LBB> Previously, you mentioned the hiring a quitter line, which is super clever! What made it perfect for the campaign?
Derek> An important part of this project was to try to break the stigma addiction has on individuals and present the positive attributes of recovery, and this line felt like a great way in. It’s a loaded phrase designed to get people’s wheels spinning when they read it, and hopefully get them to dig deeper.
LBB> As a whole, what challenges came with this project, and how did you overcome them?
Adam> The biggest challenge with the project was keeping it alive. It started a few years back, but was sidelined by the pandemic. However, it’s such a great cause and the idea behind it was so good that it kept everyone involved determined to see it through.
Oasis> Building on this, the four vignettes were not actually the original concept for the campaign! However, several production delays due to lockdowns caused us to change the direction.
LBB> What lessons have you learned in the making of this campaign?
Oasis> To trust the process and keep an open mind.
Adam> Good work comes from surrounding yourself with good people. Hire a quitter!
LBB> Since launch, how have people responded?
Adam> So far, the response has been incredible. It’s still in its early days, but responses by those exposed to the work have been overwhelmingly positive thus far.
Oasis> Those who have seen the spots have responded super positively! However, whatever the response, as long as we can help just one person, we can declare the campaign a success.
LBB> Finally, how does this campaign fit into Oasis Movement’s branding for 2023 and beyond, and is there anything readers should know about how they can support the work you’re doing?
Oasis> Oasis hopes to address the stigma of addiction, and help people understand that addiction does not discriminate, and that people do recover. We believe these short vignettes show just that.
We would also like employers to consider that people in recovery are, in fact, people first, that they are worthy of trust, and to provide employment opportunities for them.
Finally, we operate a clothing recycling project across the Greater Toronto Area that supports parts of our programmes and services that are not funded. Visit: https://clothingbank.ca/ for more information!
