Explaining OECTA’s powerful #kidSplained campaign

For our partners at the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), the goal was clear: raise awareness about the growing education crisis across the province, rally public support, and pressure government officials to invest in a world-class, properly funded education system.

But this wasn’t going to be easy.

Polling showed education was slipping down Ontarians’ list of concerns, drowned out by housing, health care, the rising cost of living, and the Trump administration’s talk of tariffs. The truth about schools needed to break through a noisy, distracted media landscape. Our solution? Let the kids do the talking.

Strategy

To cut through, we leaned into OECTA’s trusted Know More brand and evolved it with a bold new idea: #KidSplained — a campaign that handed the mic over to the people who feel the impact of Ontario’s underfunded schools the most: the students.

Our insight was simple: kids telling the truth is not only powerful, it’s disarming. By letting them explain the realities of classrooms with 3,500 fewer teachers, crumbling buildings, and outdated resources, we could make the issue feel urgent, human, and impossible to ignore.

But this wasn’t just a creative decision. It was a strategic one.

With the provincial election approaching, we developed a plan to make our message unavoidable in key battleground ridings, where swing voters could tip the balance. We geo-targeted key regions across Ontario and focused our creative efforts where it would count most.

Execution

We launched #KidSplained as a fully integrated campaign across Ontario, using a combination of traditional and digital media where the kids seemingly “took over” government and leading political party ads by hijacking them:

• Video, Radio & Connected TV: Kids delivered direct-to-camera messages that interrupted regular programming and challenged government narratives.
• Billboards: Hard-hitting headlines showed up in every corner of the province, including right outside Queen’s Park.
• Social Media (including Reddit): We created scroll-stopping content that felt native to the platforms and sparked conversation across generations.
• Paid Search + Display: Search ads appeared when Ontarians looked up education issues, driving them to learn more.
• Localized Targeting: Tailored creative and placements focused on high-priority ridings and communities.

We also created tools that helped people take action, like contacting their MPPs and sharing campaign materials, making the message both emotional and actionable.

Results

In just a few months, the campaign reached over 5 million Ontarians — with 40% of adults across the province recalling the campaign. Most notably, education jumped two spots on Ontarians’ priority list, signaling a real shift in public perception and conversation.

Additional results included:

• 30–40% ad recall in priority ridings, where the campaign was most concentrated.
• Reddit ads exceeded benchmarks across all metrics, particularly in reaching younger demographics and driving engagement.
• Positive sentiment on social and in community conversations, with parents, teachers, and students praising the campaign’s honesty and heart.
• Media coverage and amplification of the student-led messaging helped elevate the urgency at both the grassroots and political level.

Why It Matters

This campaign wasn’t just about awareness. It was about advocacy. In a moment when education risked being forgotten, #KidSplained made it unforgettable.

It told the story of Ontario’s education crisis through the eyes of its youngest citizens. And delivered messages that were emotional, honest, and incredibly difficult to ignore.

By amplifying the voices of students, Know More and #KidSplained became a rallying cry for change and a critical pressure point in the lead-up to Ontario’s next election.

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