Ellis Teichman Communications of Toronto has helped to launch a year-long campaign to raise awareness of abuse of the elderly and raise money for Canada’s first safe house for abuse victims.
The effort is being spearheaded by the Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, which is hoping to raise $2 million in private donations to build ElderShelter.
The network is comprised of volunteers and is headed by Elizabeth Podnieks, a professor at the school of nursing with Toronto’s Ryerson Polytechnic University.
Elder abuse is a little-known, but growing, social problem.
Studies suggest that one in 25 elderly people suffer some form of abuse, and it is estimated that in 50 years, 25% of the population will be 65 or older.
Logo, ad creative
Ellis Teichman has created a logo for the network, collateral material, as well as transit shelter advertising, broadcast and print public service announcements.
The focal point of the campaign is a transit shelter framed by a house-shaped two-by-four construction.
The mock shelter will be staffed during lunch hours by volunteers at its current Toronto location, and will later be moved to other locations in the city.
The transit shelter poster is dominated by the image of a senior with broken glasses and the headline, ‘Elder Abuse is too polite a word for it.’
It is tagged with a phone number to call for information.
The campaign was sparked by Andrew Benedetto, assistant product manager with Visa Canada.
Benedetto won a Mediacom contest and wished to donate his prize – a week’s worth of ad and transit shelter space – to a needy cause.
Mediacom will continue to donate the space for the remainder of the campaign.
