The Life Saving Pre-Roll

Client: Ad Council / Executive Office of the President

Agency: R/GA NY

Highlights: Webby Nominee | Responsible for change in YouTube policy on ads before lifesaving tutorials | Part of the Whitehouse policy response to the Fentanyl epidemic

AdCouncil turned pre-roll ads on YouTube into Naloxone tutorials, getting people to the life-saving content faster, when every second counts.

In the case of an opioid overdose, YouTube tutorials on how to administer Naloxone (Narcan) is where most young people turn to. But oftentimes the tutorials are lengthy, other content might even be preceded by ads.

“The Life Saving Pre-Roll” is a media innovation that places this vital, life-saving information in pre-roll ads across YouTube, featuring a shorter, quickly accessed Naloxone tutorial. This way, people can get to the life-saving content as fast as possible.

Using a hyper-targeted approach, alongside a generous media donation by YouTube, these pre-roll PSAs provided people with a tutorial on how to administer Naloxone in the shortest amount of time, meeting this immediate need in mere seconds, precisely when every second is literally a matter of life and death.