Powerful ad uses ‘Skip Ad’ box to highlight ex-cons’ issues

This is very clever. Link (Note: video will start automatically on the page).

It’s a fake YouTube video, with the usual ‘Skip Ad’ box appearing in the corner after a few seconds:

The video appears to be an ad with a young ex-convict stating his case for getting a job. After five seconds, the usual Skip Ad button appears, but should a viewer choose to click the button, the video will merely start over again. Each time the button is pressed, the candidate becomes more despondent and desperate in his plea to have someone listen to him. Should viewers choose not to skip and hear his whole message, they will see him grow increasingly confident as he speaks about getting a job.

It’s worth looking at a few times, clicking and not clicking the button, just to see the effect on the actor. It’s a very clever and innovative method of getting a message across, using something that we see every day and – let’s face it – use almost 100% of the time, in order to ignore what the advertisers want to tell us.

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The idea is to promote the Ban The Box initiative, which aims to get the Previous Convictions box removed from job applications forms. Leo Burnett, the brains behind the campaign, have used the parallels between the Skip Ad box and the difficulties that ex-convicts face when trying to get employment to produce a really powerful and thought-provoking ad.

Nice work.

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