WE ARE
THE ONES
Creative Director, Art: Warren Eakins
Creative Director, Copy: Omar Silwany
Designer: Norah Tahiri
Additional Creative: Shabazz Larkin
Director: Jason J.M. Harper
Matter Unlimited
The next year: Trump.
By 2017, we knew another side never set hatred aside.
This is what happened before the torches were lit.
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. We are the hope of those boys who have so little, who've been told that they cannot have what they dream, that they cannot be what they imagine.
Yes, they can."
— Senator Barack Obama, February 5, 2008
Manifesto
When we look up and ask for light: We Are The Ones.
When we listen for the words that keep our spirits high: We Are The Ones.
And when we sing of bravery's home and freedom's land: We Are The Ones.
We Are The Ones — Christmas Day 2017 | ABC/ESPN | NBA Christmas Day Games
We Are The Ones Spot — Obama, Chance, Steph
The Speech — Going Viral
The Keeper's Code — iambmbk.org
The Keeper's Code — Six Principles
My Brother's Keeper Alliance — iambmbk.org
My Brother's Keeper Alliance — Instagram
"The film aims to re-engage the public with the mission of MBKA and to encourage young Americans to become allies..."
"Stephen Curry and Chance the Rapper joined forces with former President Barack Obama..."
"The spot is the first major public service announcement released by the Obama Foundation..."
"The video concludes with Curry and Chance watching as a group of young men join in..."
"The PSA highlights the importance of mentorship and the idea that the future of the country depends on the success of its youth."
"The campaign is part of a broader effort to ensure that all young people... have the opportunity to succeed."
Barack Obama — Oval Office
THE CHALLENGE
Matter Unlimited had been developing a campaign for the Obama Foundation's My Brother's Keeper Alliance for over a year when their concept was shelved. They had one week before a donated ABC/ESPN Christmas Day media buy went dark.
The stakes were higher than a deadline: Obama was out. Trump was in. Four months after Charlottesville, torches were still burning.
THE INSIGHT
The concept was called THE SPEECH. The campaign line had been sitting in a 2008 Obama speech for nine years: "We are the ones we've been waiting for."
By 2017, it didn't need a politician to deliver it. It needed one kid. A park. A microphone.
THE WORK
Omar Silwany and Warren Eakins developed the foundational architecture: the "We Are The Ones" line, the speech format, and The Keeper's Code. Matter Unlimited launched the Keeper's Code first — a digital peer-to-peer social contract. The final spot featured one kid, spoken word, and a park. Christmas Day 2017. ABC/ESPN. NBA Christmas games.
THE IMPACT
50 million impressions. Zero paid media. Covered by Adweek, USA Today, The Washington Post, People, Esquire, and Campaign US. The Obama Foundation's first major post-presidency public push — built on a concept developed in one week, from a title that had been waiting nine years.