Final Project for Art Direction and Copy Writing at Ithaca College We created a mock campaign encouraging parents to support their children and to educate themselves on the warning signs of suicide for The Trevor Project. This book contains several versions of a magazine advertisement, media placements justifications, a direct mail piece and process work. Team Members: Emma Behrens and Lanni Gagnon

1. What if this
was your child?
encouraging parents to
support their children and to
educate themselves on the
warning signs of suicide.

2. The Trevor Project: Creative Brief
The goal of this campaign is to encourage parents to support their
children and to educate themselves on the warning signs of suicide.
Target Market
The Trevor Project currently reaches out to at risk LGBTQ
youth to encourage them to get help. We wanted to reach
a target that wasn’t being reached in The Trevor Project’s
existing campaigns. That gap is the parents of youth who
may be at risk.
Specifically, we aim to reach parents age 35-54 with
children between the ages of 12 and 17. Some parents
may be supportive of their LGBTQ child, but will need
resources that enable them to recognize the signs that
their child needs help. Other parents may not be as
LGBTQ friendly, but need resources to help them
understand and support what their child is going through.
We want our ads to have a shock factor that will make
parents feel concerned. Our ads shouldn’t be
comfortable to read because we want to encourage
parents to be diligent. We would like all parents to feel
as if they have the resources and community to guide
them through whatever difficult situations they encounter
with their child. We want them to feel well prepared to
handle whatever may be thrown at them, in a well
educated and supportive manner.
Problems and Opportunities:
The Message:
Suicide among LGBT youth is a huge issue. We want
to make parents aware of this and connect them with
the resources that could help in saving their child’s life.
The Strategic Idea:
Support:
There are many shocking statistics that support
the idea that these are the experiences that LGBT
youth are going through. Specifically, 1 in 4
transgender youth report having attempted suicide.
Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth are 4 times
more likely to attempt suicide than their straight
peers. LGB youth from families who reject them
are 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGB
youth who report coming from accepting families.
Creative Considerations:
The Deliverables:
We must be sensitive to this touchy issue of teen
suicide without sugar-coating the harsh reality.
This isn’t just some far-off problem. This could be your
child who is considering suicide so you need to be
aware of the warning signs.
Talking to a volunteer from the Trevor Project, it became
clear that many of the youth he worked with didn’t have
parents that they confided in about the problems they
were going through. One reason for this may simply be
because parents are unaware of the struggles their
children are going through. This provides us with an
opportunity to reach out to parents and to encourage
them to become informed and to support their child.
The most important thing that this campaign must
accomplish is to prompt parents to take action. It
must make parents think about what they would
do if their child came out to them or seemed to be
depressed.
The Mandatories:
There will be 3 full, 8.5 by 11, page ads with no
bleed. These messages will run in magazines read
by parents of children age 12-17, specifically
People, Better Homes and Gardens and Time.
These magazines are also frequently found in
doctors office waiting rooms.
The fourth execution in this study combines the
reach of direct mail with the word-of-mouth
benefits provided by guerilla marketing methods.
There will be an envelope sent to households with
middle school and high school aged children that
contains a blank Trevor Project greeting card. The
card will begin by saying “Dear Child, I love and
support you.” It will then have a blank space for
parents to write a message to their child. This can
be used as a conversation starter for parents who
may not know how to bring up their concerns
otherwise. We hope that the shareability and
lifespan of a greeting card will help The Trevor
Project to spread its message.

3. Did you know that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are 4 times more likely
to attempt suicide than their straight peers? Your support could save your
child’s life. Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the
warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.
What if this was your child?
“I feel like
a walking
stereotype.”
“None of them will
ever be able to
hurt me again”
“Dying will make
my life better.”

4. Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth (LGB) who come from families who reject them
are over 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGB peers who reported
their families were openly accepting.Your acceptance could make the difference.
Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the warning signs
and get advice on how to best support your child.
What if this was your child?
“The world will
be better off
when I’m dead.”
“I can’t changethat I’m gay.”
“Please forgive me.”

5. Did you know that 1 in 4 transgender youth report having attempted
suicide? The more you know, the better you can help your child.
Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the
warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.
What if this was your child?
“By the time
you read this
I’ll be dead.”
“I will never besafe as myself.”
“I just wish
I was ‘normal.’”

6. Placement of Magazine Ads
These messages will run in magazines read by parents of
children age 12-17, specifically People, Better Homes and
Gardens and Time. These magazines are also frequently
found in doctors office waiting rooms.

7. Wild Card
Our wild card execution will be a greeting card that is sent to
parents in the U.S. They will each receive a greeting card and
stamp (either one of the two different versions below which will
be distributed randomly) in an envelope with the following note:
Please send this greeting card to your child, or a child you
know, to let them know that you love and accept them for who
they are. A parent or loved one’s support can make a significant
impact on a child’s life. Please join us in the fight for acceptance,
and let your child know that they can be themselves, whoever that
may be. Thank you for helping our cause.
Sincerely,
The Trevor Project
* The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing
crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people
ages 13-24. We are currently heading a campaign to help
parents learn the importance of acceptance, and to educate
parents on how to help. We encourage you to write this greeting
card to any child, regardless of how they identify themselves, to
let them know that you are there for them.

8. Front of Greeting Card: 2 Versions
“Be who you are
and say what you
feel, because those
who mind don’t
matter and those who
matter don’t mind.”
-Dr. Seuss
“The greatestgift that you cangive to othersis the gift ofunconditional loveand acceptance.”-Brian Tracy

9. Inside Top of Greeting Card: 2 Versions
“Happiness
can exist onlyin acceptance.”-George Orwell
“Dare to beyourself”- André Gide

10. Inside Bottom and Back of Greeting Card
Dear ____________ ,
I love and support you.
Please visit www.thetrevorproject.org for more information.

11. Process Work: Brainstorms/Thumbnails

12. Process Work: Brainstorms/Thumbnails

13. Process Work: Trendboard

14. Process Work: Rejected Comps

15. Process Work: Rejected Comps

16. Process Work: Rejected Comps

17. Process Work: Rejected Comps

18. Process Work: Rejected Comps
Dear ____________ ,
I love and support you.
Front:
Back:
“Happiness can
exist only in
acceptance.”
-George Orwell
“Be who you are and
say what you feel,
because those who
mind don’t matter
and those who
matter don’t mind.”
-Dr. Seuss
“The greatest giftthat you can give toothers is the gift ofunconditional loveand acceptance.”-Brian Tracy
“Dare to be
yourself”
- André Gide
Wild Card: Post Card

19. Process Work: Rejected Comps

20. Process Work: Rejected Comps

21. Process Work: Rejected Comps

22. Critique Notes
• It’s upsetting to read them, which is
hitting the mark
• Good that we included trans letter, so
important
• “Don’t let this be your child.” is liked
• Liked the variation in colors between
executions
What Worked: What Didn’t Work:
Questions: Suggestions:
• First sentence in #1 is too stereotypical.
• Make beginning more choppy. Make it
sound rambling
• Write out “4x”
• “Don’t let this be your child.” sounds like
“don’t let your child be gay”
• Watermark makes it seems like the letter is
written on Trevor Project stationery
• Wild card may get bad image among families
who don’t support these beliefs
• Text on bottom and text of copy are
competing with one another
• Would the Trevor Project actually afford to
send direct mail to all parents in the US?
• Would someone write something that
personal on a postcard?
• Actually handwrite rather than typing
• Or try a font that looks more handwritten
• Add in “walking stereotype”
• “What if this was your child?”
• Play around with different fonts and papers
• Idea to send postcards back to Trevor and
then they could send it to kids in crisis?
• Maybe add darker outlines on the wildcard
word bubbles
• Make bottom copy much smaller
• Add “pull quote” from letter of alarming or
drawing line

23. 1 in 4 transgendyouth report havattempted suicid
LGB Youth are
4x more likely to
attempt suicide
LGB youth fromrejecting familiesare 8x more likelyto attempt suicidethan those fromaccepting families
Leading national organization for LGBTQ youth
support and suicide prevention services
Provides materials for parents on its website, BUT
does not specifically target parents to create
awareness and encourage support

24. “Be who you are
and say what you
feel,because those
who mind don’t
matter and those who
matter don’t mind.”
-Dr.Seuss
“The greatest
gift that you can
give to others
is the gift of
unconditional love
and acceptance.”
-Brian Tracy
Did you know that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are 4 times more likely
to attempt suicide than their straight peers? Your support could save your
child’s life. Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the
warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.
What if this was your child?
“I feel like
a walking
stereotype.”
“None of them will
ever be able to
hurt me again”
“Dying will make
my life better.”
Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth (LGB) who come from families who reject them
are over 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGB peers who reported
their families were openly accepting.Your acceptance could make the difference.
Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the warning signs
and get advice on how to best support your child.
What if this was your child?
“The world willbe better offwhen I’m dead.”
“I can’t change
that I’m gay.”
“Please forgive me.”
Did you know that 1 in 4 transgender youth report having attempted
suicide? The more you know, the better you can help your child.
Visit TheTrevorProject.org for resources to help you learn the
warning signs and get advice on how to best support your child.
What if this was your child?
“By the time
you read this
I’ll be dead.”
“I will never be
safe as myself.”
“I just wish
I was ‘normal.’”
Dear ____________ ,
I love and support you.