Our creative idea focused on a simple premise: If we could find something funny to say about this serious topic – especially in a manner that would appeal to teenagers’ quirky sense of humour – then we could get their attention, and thus make our message heard.

So we set up our story with an engaging online video that is reminiscent of an old-school educational video, complete with a geeky adult host. After discussing the dangers of sending naked images, the video host suggests that instead, young boys should send a picture of a naked mole rat.

The headline reads: “Don’t Get Sextorted. Send A Naked Mole Rat.”

The video then shows the star of the campaign – a little-known African rodent, which is pink, hairless, and three to four inches in size – the ideal character to give boys something to giggle about and to eagerly share among friends.

Teen boys live on mobile and messaging platforms and are heavily engaged in meme culture, so we leveraged this behaviour in our campaign. We kicked things off with the Sextortion-Ed video and followed up with downloadable memes, gifs and stickers and even a custom keyboard on the app store and for iOS to get to our target right where they are.

We housed everything on a comprehensive website with detailed but simple-to-comprehend information about Sextortion, along with a downloadable lesson plan for teachers and even an e-commerce section with fun Naked Mole Rat swag for sale. Everything was laid out in a mobile-friendly interface without creating information overload.

We also used traditional media, including donated TV and PR to amplify the campaign. But in the end, it was key influencers who spread our digital assets and helped us achieve our goal of getting our message across to our target audience.

In less than a week, our campaign amassed a stunning 1.8 billion impressions, significantly exceeding the initial campaign objective. Across five continents, conversation about sextortion spiked 649% in one week. More importantly, our campaign helped change behaviour.

Protection services from Australia and New Zealand got in on the act with their own Naked Wombat and Naked Kiwi memes. Police forces tweeted to show their support and amplify the message. The School Liaison Unit used the video to help a teenage boy, showing him an alternative way out.

Social media and traditional press exploded with articles and interviews about the campaign. Major publications promoted the message on their platforms, sharing it with their followers. Merchandise flew off the virtual shelves, with orders coming from six countries. The lesson plans were downloaded over 1,500 times to be shared in classrooms.

Conversations about the risk of sextortion and prevention became a global phenomenon.