Victim Services Toronto (VST) presents a short horror film. But this isn’t a Hollywood movie. It’s happening next door, or down the road, to some you care about…or you. 72andSunny Toronto has made the work of VST visceral, to expand its proven community-based safety initiative, Ask for Angela.
The campaign includes new partnerships as well as a series of PSA films plus OOH, working together to both increase awareness of the realities victims face and provide clear, accessible pathways to help across the city. The films focus on internal moments, what people may be thinking or rationalising in situations where they feel unsafe, helping to challenge common misconceptions around victimhood and make those experiences more visible and understood.
“In Toronto, police already record 17,000 to 19,000 intimate partner violence occurrences in the average year, with recent data showing a double‑digit year‑over‑year increase in reports despite chronic underreporting,” stated Carly Kalish, chief executive officer of Victim Services Toronto. “There’s clearly an urgent need for Ask for Angela’s increased presence across Toronto, while also presenting a long-term, infrastructure-building opportunity to make pathways to help more consistently available, convenient, and approachable.”
To expand local pathways to safety and professional support, VST first introduced Ask for Angela in the GTA in fall 2023. The safety initiative, which originated in the UK in 2016 and celebrates its 10-year global anniversary this year, allows people experiencing gender-based violence or exploitation to discreetly signal for immediate support at partnering locations using the code phrase, “Is Angela here?”
The newly launched OOH campaign shares VST’s resources discreetly, disguising the Ask for Angela messaging into ads for makeup, skincare, and menstrual products. The PSA series is designed to work with this OOH to move beyond awareness alone, ensuring that individuals who recognise themselves in these moments also have a clear and immediate pathway to support through Ask for Angela. It also extends the campaign’s reach across digital and broadcast channels, creating a connected system pairing emotional storytelling with accessibility.
72andSunny Toronto creative director, Kate Thorneloe, commented, “This campaign was designed as a system; one part helping people recognise themselves in situations they may not always name, and the other giving them a simple, immediate way to act. The PSA films create that emotional understanding, while Ask for Angela provides a clear path to support in everyday environments. Together, they’re meant to meet people not just where they are physically, but where they are mentally and emotionally, as well.”
Through its Loblaw Companies Limited partnership, VST has already embedded an accessible support option into 225 local, everyday retail spaces that victims of gender-based violence and exploitation may visit alone, including grocery stores and pharmacies. Currently, thousands of frontline staff at participating locations across the GTA are trained to recognise the Ask for Angela code phrase and follow its clear protocol to connect individuals with professional support services, with QR codes available for additional discretion and choice.
The expansion of Ask for Angela represents a significant step in building a more connected and accessible support system across Toronto. By combining community partnerships, physical infrastructure, and a campaign designed to pair awareness with action, VST is evolving the initiative from a standalone program into a sustained, city-wide network designed to meet ongoing needs.
The full campaign will cover social, cinema, and donated broadcast media, with out-of-home executions installed in high-traffic locations across the city.
Credits:
Client: Victim Services Toronto
Carly Kalish: Chief Executive Officer
Erin Schachter: Director of Development Strategic Partnerships
Jasminder Sekhon: Director of Community Management, EDI & Policy
Julia Cuasto; Project Manager
Agency: 72andSunny Toronto
Glen D’Souza: Head of Creative
Kate Thorneloe: Creative Director
Amyna Jiwani: Art Director
Mariia Kul: Copywriter
Leanne McLellan: Head of Production
Julien Bissuel: CEO
Tyler Kawa: Head of Brand
Kristy Suurna: Brand Director
Simran Baig: Brand Supervisor
Jenn Kittmer; Group Strategy Director
Dee Flores: Sr Production Artist
Ava Garciano: Production Artist
Juliann Azul: Studio Artist
Media Partner: Twenty6Two
Production House: Fela
Taj Critchlow: Founder & Executive Producer
Fuliane Petikyan: Executive Producer
Dean Rosen: Managing Partner & Executive Producer
Amir Karimi: Head of Production
Dwight Jantzi: Line Producer
Mikayla Fasullo: Post Producer
Jackson Tisi: Director
Danyal Niazi: DOP
Post Production: Cabin (Offline 3 x :30s)
Zack Herpy: Executive Producer
Matt Schaff & Esy Bardon: Editors
Jasmine Henry: Senior Producer
Ollie Nevin: Ass’t Editor
Post-Production: Nimiopere (Offline :60)
Jenna Edwards: Executive Producer
Nicole Hann: Producer
Leah Lallich: Editor
Bianca Bissada: Assistant Editor
Colour, VFX & Online: Artjail Toronto (all spots)
Caitlin Schooley-Groneveldt: Executive Producer
Alison Kinnear: Senior Producer
Clinton Homuth: Colourist
Austin Tang: Assistant Colourist
Sebastian Boros & Melany McEachern: VFX & Online
Music & Sound Design: TA2 Sound + Picture
Steve Gasden: President & Composer
Christine Leslie: Partner & Executive Producer
