Buddy Network - Be A Buddy feat. Jimmy Durmaz
TV & Online Video for Cartoon Network
This year we took the earlier than expected call from Cartoon Network, as they were looking to commission East City Films to produce another Be A Buddy Not A Bully PSA but this time for the Swedish and Nordic region. This being one of our favourite jobs of the year we were delighted to accept the opportunity to work with the Swedish team. The Swedish footballer Jimmy Durmaz was the ambassador and there couldn’t have been a better choice. Jimmy has suffered bullying in its various guises ever since he was a child. This culminated at the 2018 World Cup, where after a last minuet defeat to Germany Jimmy was racially abused online and in the press. Jimmy responded with a YouTube message with a powerful statement against racism and abuse. He was joined by the entire Sweden World Cup squad.
In order to capture Jimmy for the Cartoon Network PSA we travelled to Stockholm and filmed him at the Friends Arena with a group of local school children.
“You are not alone if you are being bullied or if someone in your vicinity is being bullied. You should dare talk about it, with whoever it is; whether it is one of your loved ones, a friend or if it is the curator at school. That’s what we want to highlight, that there is always someone to talk to.”
The campaign was in partnership with Friends, a Swedish anti-bullying charity who are also the naming sponsor of the Swedish football team’s national stadium, the Friends Arena. You can see the final video on the Cartoon Network website here.
The purpose of the initiative is to help kids to speak out against bullying in schools, accept other people’s differences and to “Be a buddy, not a bully”.
To see all our Be A Buddy Not A Bully PSAs click here.