Droga5 and Meek Mill Amplify the Voices of Prisoners Facing Covid-19 Risks Behind Bars

Droga5 has used the voices of real prisoners in a powerful new campaign to raise awareness of the coronavirus risk to inmates living in communal conditions for the Reform Alliance. “Answer Their Call” aims to sound the alarm that Covid-19 can "turn a prison sentence into a death sentence" for inmates who say they are unable to socially distance due to prison living conditions. It features 23 unscripted, recorded phone calls of real, concerned prisoners across more than a dozen institutions. The campaign aims to encourage people to share the content and sign a petition calling on officials to take action to make prisons safer. [kickout id="1"] According to the Reform Alliance, a majority of coronavirus hotspots in the US have been linked to high rates of infection inside prisons–with up to 80% of prisoners testing positive in one institution. The campaign will "hijack" people's social feeds with the hashtag #AnswerTheirCall in order to generate empathy for prisoners in the U.S.–a majority of whom, the organization said, have been incarcerated for minor offenses. Kicking off the campaign, hip-hop artist and Reform Alliance co-chair Meek Mill dropped a hotline number (833-229-8300) on his social platforms on Tuesday. When people call the number they will hear a real recorded phone call with an inmate. [kickout id="2"] Callers will then receive a follow up text prompting them to take action by sharing the #AnswerTheirCall audio files to amplify the voices of inmates. The audio is also live across Reform's social channels. Droga5 said other "partners" will post phone call recordings throughout the campaign, though the agency has kept the identity of those people under wraps for now. A new, emotive film will also launch Monday. "All of these people are worthy of redemption; we should be helping them as they work to turn their lives around–not allowing them to die in a cage," the agency said. CREDITS: Client: Reform Alliance Agency: Droga5 NY Creative chairman: David Droga Global chief creative officer: Neil Heymann Co-chief creative officer: Tim Gordon Co-chief creative officer: Felix Richter Group creative director: Toby Treyer-Evans Group creative director: Laurie Howell Copywriter: Stacy-Ann Ellis Art director: Oscar Gierup Designer: Mike Gaynor Group experience design director: Craig Wong Chief creation officer: Sally-Ann Dale Director of film production: Jesse Brihn Senior producer, film: Isabella Lebovitz Associate producer, film: Kenya Agunloye Music supervisor: Mike Ladman Director of interactive production: Tasha Cronin Producer, interactive: Colin Neff Associate producer, interactive: Lauren Williams Director of business affairs: Dan Simonetti Associate director of business affairs: Tom Venditelli Talent manager: Sunny Valencia Global chief strategy officer: Jonny Bauer Head of strategy: Harry Román-Torres Strategy director: Gabriela Avila Junior brand strategist: Mykala Daniel Head of communications strategy: Dean Challis Group comm strategy director: Samantha Deevy Senior communications strategist: Paulina Liang Communications strategist: Molly Klein Group data strategy director: Lily Ng Senior data strategist: Jessica Duncan Group account director: Sharif El Rabiey Account director: Ashton Atlas Account manager: Cameron Yates Project manager: Damaris Giha Client: Reform Alliance Chief executive officer: Van Jones President and chief growth officer: Bob Pilon Senior director, creative campaigns: Meagan Bond Consultant: Louis Reed Editorial: Second Child Managing director: Scott Chinn Senior producer: Sara Mills Editor: When it’s Over Nina Sacharow Editor: Reform Redirect Victor Hermosillo Assistant editor: Andrew Davenport Grade: Company3 Producer: Alex Lubrano Colourist: Sofie Borup Conform / finishing: Significant Others Executive producer: Sarah Roebuk Producer: Kyra Hendricks Sound: Wave Studios Audio engineer: Aaron Reynolds Executive producer: Vicky Ferraro.