Legal Aid of North Carolina – Abuse Affects Us All
Campaign Snapshot
Client: Legal Aid of North Carolina
Agency: CMRignite
Campaign Platform: Stop the Cycle
Goal: Raise awareness of domestic violence, assault, and exploitation while empowering survivors and communities to speak up and take action
Overview
“Abuse Affects Us All” is an awareness and action campaign created to confront the reality of domestic violence and break the silence that often surrounds it. Rather than framing abuse as a private issue, the campaign positioned it as a community wide problem that requires collective responsibility.
Through honest storytelling and highly visible public messaging, the work encouraged survivors to seek help and urged communities to recognize warning signs, speak up, and support those impacted.
The Challenge
Domestic violence is frequently hidden, underreported, and misunderstood. Many survivors suffer in silence due to fear, stigma, or lack of access to resources. Traditional messaging can feel distant or abstract, failing to capture how widespread and personal the issue truly is.
The challenge was to create work that felt direct, human, and unavoidable while still centering dignity, empathy, and support for survivors.
Our Approach
The campaign used bold, declarative language paired with real stories to make one thing clear: abuse does not just affect one household, it affects entire communities.
A unified visual and messaging system was rolled out across film, outdoor, print, and digital, ensuring the message followed people from city streets to their phones and into their homes. The campaign also introduced a public pledge, giving people a tangible way to commit to recognizing and interrupting cycles of abuse.
Key Messaging
The core idea was simple and powerful:
Abuse is not private.
Abuse affects us all.
By shifting the conversation from secrecy to shared responsibility, the campaign invited everyone to be part of the solution.
Deliverables
Hero commercial bringing survivor stories to the forefront
Documentary style film expanding on lived experiences and paths to support
Billboard and outdoor advertising for broad public visibility
Pledge cards and printed materials to drive community participation
Social videos and digital content to sustain engagement and education
Dedicated campaign site encouraging visitors to take the Stop the Cycle pledge
Community Action Focus
The Stop the Cycle pledge encouraged people to:
Listen to and believe survivors
Recognize signs of abuse and exploitation
Speak up and intervene safely when possible
Connect people to trusted legal and community resources
This transformed the campaign from passive awareness into active commitment.
Impact
The campaign amplified survivor voices and expanded public conversation around domestic violence across North Carolina. By combining mass visibility with personal storytelling and a clear action step, the work helped reduce stigma, increased awareness of available legal support, and mobilized communities to stand with survivors rather than look away.
My Role – Senior Art Director, CMRignite
I helped develop and execute the visual and creative system across campaign touchpoints, translating the core message into cohesive assets spanning film, outdoor, print, and digital. My focus was ensuring the work remained emotionally honest, visually striking, and consistent across every medium so the message could not be ignored.