REFORM Alliance • Answer Their Call

REFORM Alliance exists to dramatically reduce the number of people unjustly under the control of the criminal justice system. To elicit sympathy towards the people behind bars more vulnerable to COVID-19—which threatens to turn every prison sentence into a death sentence—we created a campaign that amplified their voices using their only point of connection with the outside world: a phone call. 

We hijacked social feeds with a campaign that connected people directly to those who are incarcerated. Built from real phone calls, a series of social films asked people on the outside to #AnswerTheirCall, and hear their fears and experiences firsthand. 

"I'm in a dorm setting with a hundred other inmates on a daily basis, so it's really impossible for me to practice social distancing. I'm really in fear for my health and my life, ‘cause who's to say that if I contract the coronavirus, I’m to beat it?" —Elijah M.

"As inmates, we do suffer in our silence. Everybody is focused on the virus, and they're worrying about people getting sick and dying out there. But what about in here?" —Christine C.

"I'm terrified. I'm scared. I'm nervous. I don't know what to expect, if I'm getting out. And to be going through everything I went through in my life to be back in here on a violation. Like, damn, it's a possibility I can die in here." —Adrian R.

"We have somebody that loves us dearly, too, and we have loved ones out there that we love and want to be home with. Our lives matter, too—even though we may have committed an offense. But we're paying for it. We're still human. You don't just write us off." —Angela W.

"When It's All Over"

Additionally, an emotional and raw film "When It's All Over" played on a truth we all share—that, as a society, we all dream of the simple things, small and big, that come with getting back to normal. And that whether you are free or doing time to regain your freedom, this is something we all look forward to. 

The #AnswerTheirCall campaign—comprising a kick-off hotline, 10 social calls, and the "When It's All Over" film—was launched by REFORM Alliance co-chair Meek Mill, and further amplified by Van Jones, Madonna, Kim Kardashian-West, Jack Dorsey, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, Robin Thicke, and more.

Press: CBSRolling StoneNBCPoliticoThe SourceComplex, AdAge, Adweek

Dream Team

Agency: Droga5 | CW: Stacy-Ann Ellis | AD: Oscar Gierup | GCDs: Laurie Howell, Toby Treyer-Evans | Editors: Nina Sacharow, Andrew Davenport

Using Format