ad council & dollar general literacy

pep talk center

After a successful first year, The Dollar General Literacy Foundation wanted a second campaign to encourage people
to get their GED Diplomas. Jon and I Creative Directed the project, and Matt Collier and Wayne Robinson came up with
a brilliant idea: the YourGED Pep Talk Center, where students could get whatever level of motivation they needed to
get their degree — from a gentle pep talk to an in-your-face, aggressive pep talk.

All they had to do was visit Yourged.org or call the hotline to get their perfect pep talk.

The campaign won a Bronze Lion at Cannes, got covered by Fast Company's CoCreate, shortlisted at the Webbys 
in 3 categories, shortlisted at the Clios and yourged.org  had over 6 million page views.

We also got to work with Ron Perlman, Danny Trejo, Christopher Lloyd, Jerry Stiller, DMC, Afred Molina, Terry Crews,
Debra Jo Rupp, Jamie Lynn Siegler, Henry Ian Cusick, The Miz and The Voice of New York- Angie Martinez on this pro-bono project.

The website is the real focus of the GED Pep Talk campaign. It features a range of 13 Pep Talkers — from gentle to aggressive
— and students can simply use a slider to select the level of motivation they need.

The Commercials

 “Call Center”

Texting Initiative 

This TV spot and bus shelter helped drive the text initiative which allowed students to send a text, including the name
of the person they wanted a pep talk from, and they got a call back within minutes from their pep talker of their choice.

Radio

Wild postings gave each individual pep talker a chance to stand on their own.

Billboards showed the range of pep talks prospective students could watch online or hear over the phone.

CREDITS:

CCO: Ewan Paterson
CDs: Alex Zamiar, Jonathan Richman
ART DIRECTOR: Matt Collier
WRITER: Wayne Robinson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Scott Kemper
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jon Ellis
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Wondros
DIRECTOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: Jesse Dylan