2023 Winner
GoldBest in Experiential/Stunts
Raising The Roof
"Streetswear"
Courage
"Streetswear"
Courage
When you picture someone facing homelessness, you typically picture someone older, transient and roofless. But facts are, more than 40,000 Canadians without roofs over their heads are youth. To raise awareness and drive urgency around this, they took the conversation directly to the one industry that’s front and center in the consciousness of young people. With this campaign they directly took the message to the fashion industry and called out their appropriation of the controversial ‘homeless chic’ trend, on their own runway. Literally.
Raising the Roof is a Canadian not for profit organization dedicated to eliminating homelessness. And while they work to create solutions for anyone who faces homelessness, there is a growing demographic who are in acute need of their help – young people.
Their objective was to not only raise awareness for youth homelessness, but to show Canadians that homelessness is much closer than you think – driving both donation and merch sales for
Raising the Roof.
Their idea was inspired by the popular, but rightfully controversial, homeless chic trend in high fashion which has been adopted by popular brands like Balenciaga, Yeezy, and Gucci. In this trend, fashion designers charge customers hundreds if not thousands of dollars for items of clothing inspired by the clothes worn by people forced to live on the streets.
But homelessness is not a trend. It’s a real epidemic that affects 40,000 Canadian youth. So, to raise awareness and outrage, Raising the Roof called out the fashion industry on their own runway. Introducing “Streetswear” Kids – a kids collection designed for youth to survive a life of homelessness. The collection includes street survival items like the Pavement Parka, Cardboard Cargos, Tap-Me Teddy and more. A clothing line that shouldn’t exist. Because youth homelessness shouldn’t exist.
Given their idea was inspired by the world of fashion, the media they used needed to be inspired by fashion as well. The collection was launched at Canada’s biggest fashion show – Fashion Art Toronto. Kids took to the runway showcasing the clothing line for some of the most influential fashion luminaries and media outlets in the country, many of whom shared their reactions following the show.
After its runway launch, media placements appeared throughout the city, but not just anywhere. Print and digital out of home designed to replicate the look of high fashion advertising were placed in locations typically occupied by fashion brands leading many to question if the line was real or satire.
While ‘PSAs’ are a common vehicle for charities to raise awareness for public issues, many fail to relate to people on a personal level. Instead, Raising the Roof used the fashion world as a creative lever to get Canadians talking about youth homelessness. And we did it in a truly breakthrough way: by partnering with celebrity designer Caitlin Wright to convert regular kids clothing into street survival items.
The agency then highlighted some of the key issues affecting homelessness, and crafted their collection around them. For example, with winter around the corner and a failing shelter system, items like the ‘Pavement Parka’ and the ‘Tento Poncho’ have never been more relevant.
People experiencing homelessness also walk an average of 10-15 miles a day, giving a super durable shoe like the ‘Kevlar Kicks’ real utility. Each one was designed to be fully functional and usable for homeless youth.
The full ‘Streetswear’ collection includes the following: ‘Pavement Parka’, a multi-functional winter coat that unravels into a full sized kids sleeping bag. ‘Cardboard Cargos’, allowing kids to pad their pockets with cardboard so they can have an easier time lying on concrete and benches. ‘Tent-o-Poncho’, a wearable, weatherproof shelter that can be attached to subway grates to create a heated tent. ‘Kevlar Kicks’, which use carbon fibre and Kevlar material to protect kids from broken glass and needles as they run through alleyways and ‘Tap-Me Teddy’ (made of hyper-durable material), which accepts card-tapped payments, so kids can panhandle in a cashless society.
The collection, and its world of fashion inspired rollout, drove the appropriate outrage and awareness the cause deserved. The unconventional launch drove 58 million earned impressions across the country. But most importantly, donations increased by 23% and merch sales – Raising the Roof’s primary source of funding – went up by 72%.
Raising the Roof is a Canadian not for profit organization dedicated to eliminating homelessness. And while they work to create solutions for anyone who faces homelessness, there is a growing demographic who are in acute need of their help – young people.
Their objective was to not only raise awareness for youth homelessness, but to show Canadians that homelessness is much closer than you think – driving both donation and merch sales for
Raising the Roof.
Their idea was inspired by the popular, but rightfully controversial, homeless chic trend in high fashion which has been adopted by popular brands like Balenciaga, Yeezy, and Gucci. In this trend, fashion designers charge customers hundreds if not thousands of dollars for items of clothing inspired by the clothes worn by people forced to live on the streets.
But homelessness is not a trend. It’s a real epidemic that affects 40,000 Canadian youth. So, to raise awareness and outrage, Raising the Roof called out the fashion industry on their own runway. Introducing “Streetswear” Kids – a kids collection designed for youth to survive a life of homelessness. The collection includes street survival items like the Pavement Parka, Cardboard Cargos, Tap-Me Teddy and more. A clothing line that shouldn’t exist. Because youth homelessness shouldn’t exist.
Given their idea was inspired by the world of fashion, the media they used needed to be inspired by fashion as well. The collection was launched at Canada’s biggest fashion show – Fashion Art Toronto. Kids took to the runway showcasing the clothing line for some of the most influential fashion luminaries and media outlets in the country, many of whom shared their reactions following the show.
After its runway launch, media placements appeared throughout the city, but not just anywhere. Print and digital out of home designed to replicate the look of high fashion advertising were placed in locations typically occupied by fashion brands leading many to question if the line was real or satire.
While ‘PSAs’ are a common vehicle for charities to raise awareness for public issues, many fail to relate to people on a personal level. Instead, Raising the Roof used the fashion world as a creative lever to get Canadians talking about youth homelessness. And we did it in a truly breakthrough way: by partnering with celebrity designer Caitlin Wright to convert regular kids clothing into street survival items.
The agency then highlighted some of the key issues affecting homelessness, and crafted their collection around them. For example, with winter around the corner and a failing shelter system, items like the ‘Pavement Parka’ and the ‘Tento Poncho’ have never been more relevant.
People experiencing homelessness also walk an average of 10-15 miles a day, giving a super durable shoe like the ‘Kevlar Kicks’ real utility. Each one was designed to be fully functional and usable for homeless youth.
The full ‘Streetswear’ collection includes the following: ‘Pavement Parka’, a multi-functional winter coat that unravels into a full sized kids sleeping bag. ‘Cardboard Cargos’, allowing kids to pad their pockets with cardboard so they can have an easier time lying on concrete and benches. ‘Tent-o-Poncho’, a wearable, weatherproof shelter that can be attached to subway grates to create a heated tent. ‘Kevlar Kicks’, which use carbon fibre and Kevlar material to protect kids from broken glass and needles as they run through alleyways and ‘Tap-Me Teddy’ (made of hyper-durable material), which accepts card-tapped payments, so kids can panhandle in a cashless society.
The collection, and its world of fashion inspired rollout, drove the appropriate outrage and awareness the cause deserved. The unconventional launch drove 58 million earned impressions across the country. But most importantly, donations increased by 23% and merch sales – Raising the Roof’s primary source of funding – went up by 72%.
Credits
Agency: CourageFounder + CCO: Joel Holtby
Founder + CCO: Dhaval Bhatt
Partner + President: Niki Sahni
Partner + CSO: Tom Kenney
ACD, Writer: Hemal Dhanjee
ACD, Art Director: Steve Ierullo
Writer: Matt Miller
Art Director: Tommy Yong
Creative Technologist: Darrin Patey
Account Coordinator: Julia Ovcjak
Executive Producer: Clair Galea
Producer: Katie Fowler
Production: Undivided
Director/Photographer: Justin Abernethy
Executive Producer: Scott Houghton
Producer: Christa Lindsay
Production Coordinator: Ivy Bregman
DP: Nina Djacic
1st AC: Dan Porier
2nd AC: Ben Dabu
Camera Operator: Max Mezo
Prop Stylist: Cheryl Thompson
Wardrobe Designer/Stylist: Caitlin Wright
Seamstress: Lauren Novak
Offline: School
Editor: Izzy Ehrlich
Assistant Editor: Zhenya Dolzikov
Executive Producer: Yumi Suyama
Colour + VFX: Alter Ego
Colourist: James Graham
Colour Assistant: Vika Svishchova
VFX Artist: Eric Perella
VFX Assistant: Jacob Landmark
Producer: Mariya Guzova
Executive Producer: Hilda Pereira
Audio: Vapor Music
Creative Director: Ted Rosnick
Engineer: Ethan Myers
Sound Design: Levi Considine
Producer: Kat Stewart
Music Supervision: Heather Gardner + Telan Wong
Public Relations: No Fixed Address
Vice President: Erin Banting
Associate Director: Mackenzie Biddie
Account Executive: Nick Wong
Account Coordinator: Manasi Sohoni
Client: Raising The Roof
Senior Marketing Manager: Shoshana Coodin
Media: M+K Media
Associate Partner: Jill McDonald
Account Director: Laura Templin
Digital Coordinator: Anthony Scattolon