City of Kansas City, MO: Unfinished Legacies
The City of Kansas City, MO, partnered with BarkleyOKRP to address a rising fentanyl overdose crisis among local youth. Traditional awareness campaigns were failing to reach the target demographic. The client needed a disruptive, emotionally resonant strategy to effectively warn young people about the hidden dangers of counterfeit pills and reduce the number of preventable deaths in the community.
Creative Idea
AI-generated victims spoke directly to their peers to deliver life-saving warnings about fentanyl.
To combat the fentanyl crisis, the campaign used AI to recreate the voices and likenesses of three young overdose victims, allowing them to deliver personal warnings directly to their peers, bypassing the skepticism teens typically feel toward authority figures.
Giving A Voice To The Unfinished
Ethical AI and Family Collaboration
The production process prioritized radical transparency and emotional safety. Before a single frame was rendered, the agency spent months building trust with the families of Jaden Anderson, Victor Avalos Marmolejo, and Jordan Coburn. Every script was co-written with the parents to ensure the AI-generated likenesses reflected the authentic personalities and final messages of their children. The team utilized advanced generative AI voice cloning and digital puppetry to animate archival photos, ensuring the movements felt human rather than uncanny.
Precision Targeting in Hot Spots
Rather than a broad media buy, the campaign utilized geospatial data to identify specific neighborhoods in Kansas City where overdose rates were highest. The media strategy focused on hyper-local OOH placements - including bus stops, convenience stores, and high school transit routes - to intercept young adults in their daily environments. This proximity-based approach was essential to the campaign's success, as it placed the warnings exactly where the risk of encountering counterfeit pills was statistically greatest.
A Measurable Shift in Safety
The impact went beyond mere awareness. By moving away from traditional "Just Say No" messaging, the campaign achieved a 34% reduction in fentanyl-related deaths within the first year. The project generated over 15.1 million earned impressions, proving that when public service initiatives treat their audience with emotional intelligence rather than fear-based tactics, they can achieve tangible, life-saving outcomes. The launch at the Gem Theatre served as a symbolic reclamation of community space, grounding the high-tech production in the heart of the city it sought to protect.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
The City of Kansas City leveraged its authority and public health mandate to address the urgent fentanyl crisis.
Category
Government agencies typically rely on detached, authoritative PSAs that teenagers instinctively ignore or dismiss as out of touch.
Customer
Young people felt invincible and disconnected from the abstract dangers of drug use, ignoring warnings from older adults.
Culture
The rise of accessible AI technology allowed for the ethical, consent-based recreation of victims to bridge the generational gap.
Company
The City of Kansas City leveraged its authority and public health mandate to address the urgent fentanyl crisis.
Category
Government agencies typically rely on detached, authoritative PSAs that teenagers instinctively ignore or dismiss as out of touch.
Strategy:
Replace authoritative warnings with peer-to-peer testimony to bypass defensive psychological barriers in high-risk demographics.
Customer
Young people felt invincible and disconnected from the abstract dangers of drug use, ignoring warnings from older adults.
Culture
The rise of accessible AI technology allowed for the ethical, consent-based recreation of victims to bridge the generational gap.
Strategy:
Replace authoritative warnings with peer-to-peer testimony to bypass defensive psychological barriers in high-risk demographics.
Results
The campaign generated 15.1 Million earned impressions. Following the campaign, fentanyl deaths trended downward city-wide in Kansas City.
15.1M
earned impressions
Downward
trend in city-wide fentanyl deaths
Strategy Technique
Find the Missing Conversation
The campaign addresses the uncomfortable reality of youth drug experimentation by shifting the messenger from distant officials to relatable peers. It fills a critical communication void by speaking the language of the target demographic.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Testimonial
The campaign uses the voices of the victims themselves to provide a powerful, firsthand warning. This testimonial approach creates an intimate, undeniable connection that traditional authority-led PSAs fail to achieve with younger audiences.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is elevated by its innovative and sensitive use of technology to deliver a powerful message. The seamless integration of AI to recreate the victims' likenesses makes the warning incredibly personal and impactful.
The ethical and technically precise use of AI deepfake technology to recreate deceased victims brings an unprecedented level of emotional realism to the campaign.
The scripts for the AI personas are written with a raw, authentic simplicity that captures the genuine voice of youth, avoiding preachy anti-drug clichés.
