New York City Rescue Mission

Silver + Partners *Lead Agency

Eric Silver, CCO
Howard Finkelstein, Creative Director

NYC Rescue Mission needed to re-engage New Yorkers around the plight of the homeless. This required an emotionally disruptive idea that could pierce the "invisible mental shield" New Yorkers use to tune out homeless people around them. Instead of an ad, we created a social experiment that forced New Yorkers to see the homeless through new eyes. The experiment went viral, made headline news, generated 40MM in earned impressions, and increased volunteer recruitment by 20%. The video launched a much greater outcome than these quantitative results. It helped us actualize the idea that New Yorkers needed to see the homeless as their family and humanize them. As a result, the Make Them Visible Foundation was born separate of the New York City Rescue Mission to advocate and raise funds for organizations across America combating homelessness and hunger. The Foundation strives to shift the voice of the media and position the homeless as not problems to be fixed but lives to be gained. After all, people are the world's greatest natural resource.