2021 Winner
GoldCopywriting
GoldEditing
MeritSpecial Effects (FX)
MeritSound Design
Casey House
"The Toxic Office"
Bensimon Byrne / Narrative / OneMethod
"The Toxic Office"
Bensimon Byrne / Narrative / OneMethod
Sadly, there has never been a mainstream TV program that has tackled the effects of HIV stigma. Casey House decided to finally bring it to popular culture, working with Bensimon Byrne and its sister agencies Narrative and OneMethod to re-edit and rewrite episodes of one of the most-streamed shows: The Office.
The team searched 203 episodes to find scenes that could be remade to show the iconic TV characters facing the isolation of HIV stigma. The copywriting had to be a combo of scripts from various episodes, as well as new writing that highlighted the stigma around the disease. More than two-thirds of the dialogue was new, with the agency blending the original tone of the show to match the emotions expressed by each character.
To bring the writing to life, the team hired voice impersonators and lookalikes for each actor, so that it could swap voices and faces in post. “The Toxic Office” quickly became a global conversation, with over 200 stories, 10 million social impressions and 200 million media impressions within the first day of launch. And after viewing the episode, 88% of people said they felt more empathetic to those who live with HIV.
The team searched 203 episodes to find scenes that could be remade to show the iconic TV characters facing the isolation of HIV stigma. The copywriting had to be a combo of scripts from various episodes, as well as new writing that highlighted the stigma around the disease. More than two-thirds of the dialogue was new, with the agency blending the original tone of the show to match the emotions expressed by each character.
To bring the writing to life, the team hired voice impersonators and lookalikes for each actor, so that it could swap voices and faces in post. “The Toxic Office” quickly became a global conversation, with over 200 stories, 10 million social impressions and 200 million media impressions within the first day of launch. And after viewing the episode, 88% of people said they felt more empathetic to those who live with HIV.
Credits
Bensimon ByrneECD: Joseph Bonnici
CD: David Mueller
CD: Gints Bruveris
Writer: Matthew Valenzano
Art Director: Ana Segurajauregui Sanchez
Designer: Ana Segurajauregui Sanchez
Strategist: Daniella Perruccio (Director of Media Strategy)
Account Service: Will Dell (Sr. Business Lead)
Project Director Jordan Lane (PMO Director)
Project Manager: Ashley Belfast (Program Director)
Media Director: Eugene Makhouleen (Digital Analytics Director)
Social Strategist: Rebecca Milner (Community Manager)
Media Supervisor: Karensa Williams
Agency Producer: Michelle Pilling
Narrative
Managing Director: Sarah Spence
Creative Director: Debbie Chan
Associate Creative Director: Jessie Sorell
Art Director: Fiorella Martinez
Account Director: Lauren Baswick
Senior Account Manager: Denise Roy
Account Manager: Tony Koutoulous
Account Manager: Jackie Kleinberg
Account Manager: Jessica Leroux
Associate Account Manager: Sarah Santarossa
Account Coordinator: Aaron Nilsen
Account Coordinator: Kaitlin Copp
OneMethod
ACD: John Hotts
XD Director: Kurt Krumme
Designer: Cam Harapiak
Developer: Dov Atlin
Project Coordinator: Stephanie Niro
Project Coordinator: Naomi Sklar
Production House: Button Factory
Director: Dan Kelly
Line Producer: Dan Rankin
DOP: Mikhail Petrenko
Editor: Tim Pienta
Post-Production: The Faculty
Editor: Dan Kelly
Audio Production: Grayson Matthews
Audio Producer: Sharon Yokoyama
Audio Director: Tom Westin
Audio Director: Tyson Kuteyi
Audio Engineer: Vlad Nikolic
Casey House
CEO: Joanne Simons
Chief Marketing and Development Officer: Mark Trask
Communications Officer: Lisa McDonald