Ogilvy, PhD, and Unltd Unveil Hard-Hitting Youth Homelessness Campaign

​Ogilvy, PHD and UnLtd have partnered with Yfoundations, NSW peak body for child and youth homelessness, and the Property Industry Foundation to release a confronting and unique campaign to raise awareness of youth homelessness.

Created by Ogilvy, the new ‘Young and Alone’ campaign exposes the raw, unfiltered experience and struggles of youth homelessness, in an effort to make the issue visible to all, and palatable to none.

The campaign has launched across all media – but there’s a twist. The initial campaign assets appear to be promotion for a new reality show called ‘Young and Alone’. However, sadly this is not a reality show, but real life for over 43,000 young people every year.

The fake reality show highlights the severity of challenges and trials young people face every day. From finding a safe shelter to sleep at, to keeping up with studies without a stable home and just staying alive on the streets, the campaign brings to life the often hidden crisis of youth homelessness.

Yfoundations CEO, John Macmillan, said, “We are facing a national crisis that demands immediate attention. With ‘Young and Alone’, we’ve flipped survival entertainment on its head, because for young people experiencing homelessness, survival isn’t a game. This series confronts the raw reality too many young Australians face every day.”

It's the first time that three major industries - media, property and the youth sector - are uniting to drive change. The campaign has been developed off the back of new data that reveals more than 43,000 young Australians are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, with half of the young people seeking refuge in 2023–24 being turned away due to lack of capacity.

Ogilvy Sydney ECD Max McKeon explained the campaign approach, "This is a huge, and growing problem in Australia that desperately needs our attention. 43,000 young people facing homelessness, and all the troubles that come along with it, is an unfathomably large number. The team and Yfoundations have crafted a way to show this isn’t a problem Australia can just watch play out, but rather it’s a reality that needs immediate action."

An important part of the campaign creation was working with Yfoundations’ Youth Homelessness Representative Council to understand the real stories of youth homelessness and to ensure that the stories were presented in a powerful yet sensitive way for those with lived experience of homelessness.

The powerful campaign has been created with the support of multiple partners – Ogilvy and Ogilvy PR responsible for strategy, creative, PR, influencers and production, PHD providing media strategy and placement, Kantar supporting with creative testing and over 20 media owners donating media inventory for the campaign.

Lillian Zrim, head of research at PHD said, “We are truly blown away by the incredible support from our media partners for this critical campaign to address youth homelessness. At PHD, we recognise the profound impact this crisis has on over 43,000 young Australians and the urgent need for collective action. Together with Yfoundations, UnLtd, and all our partners, PHD are committed to advocating for meaningful solutions and increased funding to ensure no young person is left vulnerable or unsupported. Thank you to our media partners for standing with us in this important fight.”

The campaign is launching on 23 June across TV, BVOD, OOH, social, radio, PR and through influencer activity. The media owners supporting the campaign include: Alliance Outdoor Media Group, Amazon Prime, ARN, Australian Traffic Network, Broadsheet, Cartology, Foxtel Media, JCDecaux, JOLT, Nine, OA Collective, oOh!Media, Paramount, QMS, Southern Cross Austereo, Seven, Snapchat, TikTok, TimeOut, Torch Media, Uber, Urban List, Val Morgan, Vinyl Media and Yahoo.

​Jade Harley, director of impact at UnLtd said, "This is a powerful reminder of what the advertising industry can do when we use our collective influence to spotlight what’s kept in the shadows. Youth homelessness isn’t always visible - just because you don’t see thousands of young people sleeping rough doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Behind closed doors, they are couch surfing, living in cars, or bouncing between temporary shelters. This campaign lays bare the heart breaking choices they are forced to make every night, and the ripple effects those choices can have for a lifetime. We are so grateful to our partners who took their time to deeply understand the issue, before pouring considerable time, expertise and their hearts into this project.”