The archive · Public & Social · Marketing decision · 2021
White Ribbon's Day After Day tells lockdown abuse from the man's view, then the woman's
To reach men using violence in lockdown, White Ribbon released a film whose same words tell two stories — his isolation, then his family's.
White Ribbon
What it had to solve
As Canada's Covid lockdowns dragged on, calls about domestic disputes rose and women's helplines reported a surge in calls: men using violence were trapped at home, and their families were trapped with them. White Ribbon, a movement of men and boys working to end gender-based violence, needed to reach those men directly.
How it works
As the Covid-19 pandemic wore on, Canada became one of the most locked-down countries in the world and an alarming second crisis emerged: calls to police about domestic disputes rose, while women's helplines saw calls soar. Men who used violence were stuck at home — and their families were stuck with them.
White Ribbon, the movement of men and boys working to end gender-based violence, wanted to speak directly to those men — to show that their stresses were not an excuse, that behaviour could change and that help existed. Agencies Bensimon Byrne, Narrative and OneMethod and director Hubert Davis built the film around that uncomfortable audience.
Day After Day tells the same story twice. The first half stays inside a man's narration of lockdown isolation — his negative thinking, his sense of being trapped. Then the same words are heard again from his partner's perspective: a woman and child confined at home with a man whose stress is turning volatile. Same script, two realities — his loneliness versus their danger.
Launched worldwide on Father's Day 2021 with a coalition of Canadian media behind it, the film reached men as fathers rather than as offenders. On launch day there were 141 news stories and more than 68 million impressions, the Government of Canada pledged support for future White Ribbon initiatives, and the work won Bronze at the 2022 Atom Awards before entering D&AD's awards archive.
Why it lands
- Addressing men who use violence — not victims or bystanders — targets the exact behaviour prevention campaigns rarely manage to reach.
- Hearing his story first earns the man's identification; replaying the same words from the family's side shows the damage without lecturing.
- Mirroring the dialogue makes the mechanism visible: lockdown stress may explain the man's actions, but the same words reveal their real cost.
- A Father's Day launch ties the message to fatherhood at the moment family is meant to matter most.
What it did
For the first time a major prevention campaign put the perpetrator in the audience: on launch day it drew 141 news stories and over 68 million impressions, the Government of Canada pledged support for future White Ribbon initiatives, and the film took Bronze at the 2022 Atom Awards and a place in D&AD's awards archive.
What you can take
Prevention usually speaks to victims, but the person who must change is the one using violence: tell his story first, then replay the same words from the family's side of the door.
Since then
Day After Day became White Ribbon's lockdown-era centrepiece, pointing men to help on DayAfterDay.ca and drawing national media coverage from its launch day. The Government of Canada pledged support for future White Ribbon initiatives, the 2022 Atom Awards gave the campaign Bronze in Brand Content, and D&AD keeps the film in its awards archive as a reference for speaking to perpetrators rather than victims.
Sources
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card