With meeting mortgage payments a struggle for many Americans, the Making Home Affordable ad campaign encourages homeowners not to give up hope because free resources are out there to help.
That’s the message of the current official campaign that Schafer Condon Carter(SCC) created pro bono for the U.S. Treasury Department and Housing and Urban Development (HUD and is now airing nationally via the auspices of the Ad Council.
SCC since 2011 has been working with the Ad Council on PSAs that aim to help struggling homeowners with advice on mortgage relief options, and by encouraging them not to give up hope in saving their homes from foreclosure.
The current campaign of three so far is called “This is Why,” and consists of a 30 and 60-second spots, with Spanish versions. It was created by the SCC team of creative director Denny Hebson, who wrote the spots and art director Megan Coughlin, produced by Joy Carson.
The first phase of the campaign, titled “Frozen,” “was aimed at homeowners who were underwater on their mortgage payments, were disregarding the problem and didn’t know what to do about it,” explains SCC creative director Denny Hebson.
“Isolation,” the second phase, was aimed at a different target audience, Hebson explains: “people who juggled several jobs and postponed paying other bills, as they struggled to meet their mortgage obligations.”
In the current “This is Why” campaign, homeowners are directed to call a 24/7 hotline to speak with a HUD-approved housing expert, who counsels them about available solutions that are based on the family’s circumstances.
LA-based Radical Media handled the production, directed by Andrew Becker and shot by cinematographer Colin Watkinson in several Oak Park home interiors. Optimus contributed editorial/post, Reuben Vela edited and Sonixphere scored.
Since the MHA campaign was launched in 2010, media outlets have donated over $135 million in airtime and space.
