Senior leaders from the media, marketing, tech and creative industry will spend a night in prison as part of UnLtd’s Adland Bail Out event, to help break the cycle of youth incarceration.
The 100 inmates will on 27 June will swap their usual home comforts to prison uniforms, solitary confinement and prison grub to experience what life really is like for many young people at risk.
They will be stripped of their possessions, fingerprinted and interrogated, before spending the night in the chilling cells of Yasmar Youth Detention Centre.
In order to be released the next day, each participant is required to raise $1,250 as their bail. The funds raised will go towards UnLtd charity partners’ programs specifically designed to break the cycle of youth incarceration.
“Australia is one of the only countries in the developed world that places children as young as 10 years into juvenile justice centres," said Stephen Hunt, CEO of UnLtd.
"Imprisoning children at such a young age simply does not work and only leads to a revolving door of incarceration, mental ill-health and a huge cost to our society.
"At UnLtd, we are fortunate to work with several charities that are focused on providing better outcomes for young people and society; ultimately keeping kids out of jail and helping them break the vicious cycle of youth incarceration.
"This event is a fantastic and unique way to bring awareness to this issue, deliver a visceral experience to our participants and to raise funds for more effective programs.”
The inmates already confirmed include Ashley Earnshaw from Nine, Ben McCallum from UM, Cathy O’Connor from oOh!media, Claire Fenner from Atomic, Jasmin Bedir from Innocean, Laura Nice from OMD, Mark Jarrett from PHD, Nicole Bence from Nova, Sam Buchanan from IMAA.
This year, a couple of previously released inmates will take on a different role with Fiona Roberts from MiQ, Paul Kent from Deep Media and Ricky Chanana aka Micky Cabana confirmed as prison puards.
The inmates are currently busy raising their bail with Liam O’Meara at the top of the leaderboard for most funds raised to date.
“I took part in the Adland Bail Out a few years back and it was one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve ever had," said Fiona Roberts, managing director ANZ at MiQ.
. Spending the night on those cold hard floors of a cell is humbling and hearing the real life stories from young people is incredibly touching. But I’ve served my sentence and this year I’m excited to keep the motley crew in order as a Guard. Get ready to do as I tell you!”
The participants will also take part in thought-provoking workshops to hear from young people with lived experience on youth incarceration and inspiring experts working tirelessly to help keep young people out of trouble, out of jail and chasing their hopes and dreams.
To see the leaderboard and help your favourite industry personality reach their bail go HERE
2024 Adland Bail Out inmates so far:
Adam Elliott, Advertising Industry Careers
Adam Johnson, Nova
Andrew Gilbert, Yahoo!
Ori Gold, Bench Media
Andy Procopis, ARN
Arvind Hickman, B&T
Ashley Earnshaw, Nine
Ashley McGrath, UnLtd
Ben McCallum, UM
Brittany 'Bad B' White, REA Group
Cathy O'Connor, oOh!media
Chris Ernst, Dentsu
Chris Freel, oOh!media
Claire Fenner, Atomic 212
Daniel 'Dmac' McConochie, Alliance Outdoor Media Group
Danika Johnston, WeAre8
Esther 'The Pest' Carlsen, Nova
Geoff 'Golden Boy' Cochrane, VMO
Henrik Isaksson, Acast
James Dixon, Atomic 212
Jade Harley, UnLtd
Jasmin Bedir, Innocean
Jo Clasby, Nine
Julia Edwards, Uber
Julie Anne 'JLO from the Prison Block' Longano, Peeps Consulting
Kasey Jamison, Amazon Ads
Kathryn 'Fury' Furnari, Innocean
Katie 'The Shark Attack' Finney, Seven Network
Laura 'really not' Nice, OMD
Liam O’Meara, Val Morgan Digital
Marcelle Gomez, iProspect
Mark Jarrett, PHD
Michael McEwan, M&C Saatchi Group
Nick 'The Thomas Terror' Thomas, Amazon
Nicole Bence, Nova
Nik Weber, ESPN
Ori 'notORIous Gold' Gold
Paul 'Siggy' Sigaloff, oOh!media
Pia 'P-Dogg' Coyle, PHD
Remi Roques, BroadSign
Sam Buchanan, IMAA
Stephen Hunt, UnLtd
Tom Loudon, Little Black Book
Tiffany Damm, UnLtd
Trent ' Bob' McMillan, Kaimera
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.