SS+K's Horror Film to Fight Student Debt
How do you get young people to confront a problem they'd rather not deal with? Make a horror movie about it and convince Sundance-award winners to direct it.
That’s what SALT – a free resource created by the non-profit American Student Assistance (ASA) – did to get students and recent graduates to stop avoiding their student loans and feel the relief that comes with taking control of them. The film is part of a sustained, multi-media campaign created by ad agency SS+K to compel and empower young people to take control of their debt on a practical, day-to-day level.
You can check out the full eight-minute movie with a mission at www.facethered.com or watch the four-minute version below.
Nearing a trillion dollars, student debt affects nearly 15 million Americans under the age of 30. Few students and recent graduates even know what they owe – and they aren’t actively seeking advice on what to do about it.
“It isn't easy to get young people who feel panicked about their debts to do something about it,” said Sue Burton from ASA. “To connect meaningfully with them, we produced something very entertaining that acknowledges how frightening it can be, yet portrays their own power and offers a path out of the nightmare.”
In The Red, which premieres in theaters across the country this week, a 20-something girl is terrorized by ominous red smoke. The smoke follows her at every turn, mirroring the suffocating financial strain of a post-college world. No matter how hard she tries, she realizes that there’s no avoiding the Red. The only option is to face it.
The Borderline Films trio of Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin and Josh Mond, who recently won the Dramatic Feature Directing Award at Sundance for their thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene,directed the film. The filmmakers know firsthand the horror of mounting student debts and the paralyzing fear that it can create. “We know exactly how scary it is to owe a ton of money for school and have no clue how to pay it back,” said Mr. Campos. “This is a story we related to. The feeling of The Red made sense. And we embraced the opportunity to work on this project.”
The Red premieres this week in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C. and will also be released online at FaceTheRed.com. Beyond the film, a main focus of the campaign is to bring information and resources to students and recent grads through platforms and mediums that they already consume and trust. The campaign includes multiple content partnerships with millennial-focused media outlets like The Onion, BuzzFeed, College Humor and MTV.
SALT will also be hosting a sweepstakes with three $10,000 prizes to put toward existing loans or the cost of education. Students and recent graduates can enter the sweeps on FaceTheRed.com.
Credits
Client: American Student Assistance (ASA)
Chief Executive Officer, ASA: Paul Combe
Vice President of Consumer Services: Sue Nathan
Managing Director; Consumer Products and Marketing: Sue Burton
Director of Consumer Marketing: Jay Magilligan
Sr. Manager of Digital Marketing & Product Development: Allison Coburn
Marketing Programs Manager: Brooke Henninger
Ad Agency: SS+K
Bobby Hershfield, Partner, Chief Creative Officer
Lenny Stern, Partner
Mark Kaminsky, Partner
John Swartz, SVP, Director of Production & Operations
Armando Flores, Copywriter
Kat Lam, Art Director
Jennifer Glendining, Producer
Alex Neophytou, VP, Group Director
Makena Cahill, Account Supervisor
Christopher Dorsey, Account Executive
Nick Fico, Digital Strategist
Nirmal Deshpande, Strategist
Michael Marabella, Student consultant / Behind the Scenes
Craig Von Wiederhold, Screenwriter
Jennifer Bilyk, Head of Business Affairs
Richard Shemo, Studio Manager
Zana Kaba, Production coordinator
Production Company: Station Films
Director / Screenwriter: Borderline
Managing Partner: Stephen Orent
Partner, Executive Producer: Thomas Rossano
Line Producer: Michelle Towse
DP: Joe Anderson
1st Assistant Camera: Sam Ellison
DIT: Mariusz Cichon
Production Supervisor: Jessica Drennan
Asst Production Supervisor: Harry Drennan
1st Assistant Director: Kevin Moore
2nd Assistant Director: Ian Lynch
DGA Trainee: Henriette Ohno
Gaffer: Sean Sheridan
Key Grip: Paul Nickason
Production Designer: Stephanie Carroll
Set Decorator: Danielle Webb
Prop Master: Akeo Ihara
Art Coordinator: Alex Fagin
Sound mixer: Anthony Starbuck
Boom Operator: Jeff Livesy
VTR: Andy Schmetterling
Script supervisor: Elisabeth Tyler
Hair/Make-up: Michelle Beck
Wardrobe Stylist: Malgosia Turzanska
Craft Service: Heather McArdle
Location Manager: Joe White
Production Assistant: Caitlin Marraffa
Production Assistant: James Russell
Production Assistant: Luke Flegar
Production Assistant: Bradley Ennis
VFX: Motion Picture Company
Head of Production: Derek Macleod-Veilleux
Head Of CG: Vicky Osborn
Senior CG Artist: Ashley Berns
Senior CG Artist: Liam Griffin
Senior Compositor: Alex Harding
Carl Fong: Compositor
Sound designer: Coll Anderson
Composed by: Saunder Jurriaans and Daniel Bensi
Sound mixer: Cory Melious
Sound studio: Heard City
Executive producer: Gloria Pitagorsky
Producer: Sasha Awn
Post Production:
Editor: Andrew Marcus
Assistant Editor: Zach Patten
Edit Facility: Goldcrest Studios
“The Red” Cast
Kate: Amy Northup
Clara: Marisa Parry
Charlie: Drew Lewis
Boss: Phillip Chorba
Teller: Jean Liuzzi
ATM Man: Adam Byrd
Waitress: Laura Peterson
