don’t be a loser

Losers from Everynone on Vimeo.

My brother has been involved in the running and growth of a production company for the majority of his career.  He has an amazing eye and a smart business head.  He has produced some of the most memorable commercials for brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola, Jack Daniels, Old Navy and more.  It is always great to get together and have him show me what he is working on.  He is passionate about his directors and has a moral compass around what they are trying to create.

One of the projects he is working on now is called Losers by Everynone.  Everynone is three guys who are seriously talented in the medium of short films/advertisements ( maybe long films one day ).  My brother showed me their work some time ago before they became part of his company.  This particular short is very powerful and deals with the societal problem of bullying. 

Bullying has been around forever but now with social media, people can bully others through Facebook and other online sites anonymously making it even more difficult to deal with.  We have all read some of the terrible reprecussions that have taken place including the suicide of teenagers who just couldn’t take it anymore. 

How do we deal with this issue?  Facebook should be all over this as a public service to educate people about how bullying is not okay.  Truth of the matter, I bet some of the most successful Internet entrepreneurs were bullied when they were kids…and then they grew up to run the world.  Why can’t those entrepreneurs get behind this message and make this a national campaign using their brands?  They could and they should.  BTW, I’d be happy to put you in touch my brother. 

Watch the video.  It is pretty powerful.

Comments (Archived):

  1. Rohan

    Very nicely done. We don’t have as much bullying in school where I come from. Having experienced a bit of it when I was much younger, I know it SUCKS. I’m glad it’s being taken up.I wish there was some kind of call to action though.. And I see Josh acted as well. 🙂

    1. Gotham Gal

      josh did and so did his friends…

    2. Emily Esch

      I agree. Incredibly powerful and well done. I think it will also feel really authentic to teens. Those are their words…even if they make some of us adults cringe. And I agree that it’s missing a call to action. Hopefully it will be packaged with links to additional resources for kids, parents, and educators.To risk egregious self-promotion, the company that I work for created a cyberbullying toolkit for for schools that some might find useful. It’s at http://www.commonsense.org/cyberbu….

      1. Gotham Gal

        Love the idea of linking to resources.

  2. William Mougayar

    I watched the video. Yes, Facebook should be all over this. There should be some kind of juvenile law that punishes those that do this. It should be a zero-tolerance thing.I would go as far as suggesting that parents should be held somewhat responsible.

    1. Gotham Gal

      the parent thing is a tough one. on one hand you want to hold them accountable and then on the other hand you wonder what goes on that they aren’t aware of what is happening.

      1. William Mougayar

        yup. even reporting back to the parents might help in some cases.

        1. Catherine

          As Frank Zappa said, “The mind is like a parachute – it works only when it is open.” Think reporting is like that – whether it be parent/child/teen or whatever – without a relationship, reporting never really works. Agree w/you in that parents should have responsibility, but at a cultural level, we went from “donna reed” and “father knows best” (such perfection) to “tiaras” and “jersey shore” (x-treme incompetence) – what a wild swing.  😉  

  3. bfeld

    Put me in touch. I’d love to shout this from the rooftops. I was one of those kids in elementary school. By junior high I didn’t give a shit anymore what other people thought and the bullies went and found someone else to pick on. But they were still around.And – as adults, most of the bullies are total losers. It’s pretty obvious to see when you look across society. As I said on Charlie O’Donnell’s blog post this morning, “love always trumps hate.”

    1. panterosa,

      I heard a great talk at my daughter’s school by Alexandra Robbins, author of Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth. The whole premise is that what you get teased for in school is exactly your key to success outside school. So it’s not only the other kids, but school culture many times where the oddities seem so large and hence teasable, and for some bullyable.Fortunately my daughter knows, from me, that bullies are cowards and easy to face down.

      1. bfeld

        Yup – great talk / great advice.

      2. Gotham Gal

        so true. i hope that resonates with the kids. hard at that age.

        1. panterosa,

          Actually, talk was a PA event, so a filter down thru parent, info drip.They have excellent talks (should hope so at the tuition!). Have heard Ned Halowell, and tomorrow hear about neuroscience and body image for girls. Glad they take such care of girls development. I am impressed, which ain’t easy.

          1. Gotham Gal

            that sounds very cool

          2. panterosa,

            Yes. they even put them thru DARE program. In grades 2,3.6,8,10, and 12 for a week before college. Identify, avoid, but, if needed, learn to punch out date rapist.Now that’s girl’s school.

  4. Catherine

    Powerful, indeed.  I’ll post it and spread the word.  More kids are increasingly looking at their peers as their primary source of values and behavior codes (more-so than in the past) and at much earlier ages, way before the maturation process even gets traction.  Add tech to the mix – it’s a bad cocktail.  Needed: more adult role-models, more positive adult interaction, parents not being afraid to be close w/their kids, and that doesn’t have to mean coddling/ helicoptering.  I’ve seen parents try to protect their kids from being bullied by making sure they have the right clothes, right b-day parties, starting them on FB super-early so they have lots of “friends”, etc. which inadvertently can help create a culture of bullying.  Have we lost our way?  Argh. 

    1. Gotham Gal

      we probably have lost a bit of our way but bullying has been going on forever. why can’t people just be nice to each other.through social media we have a unique opportunity to create a platform around this…like the no smoking campaign and othersposting it would be great!

  5. Cwacey

    Really powerful. It’s great to see this issue get some media attention.  In fact, Lady Gaga launched the Born this Way Foundation to address the issue of bullying.  See http://www.mtv.com/news/art…. It’s an important issue–and, I am hoping to get MOUSE involved as well.Thanks for sharing!

    1. Gotham Gal

      it would be awesome for MOUSE kids to see this video!

  6. Amy Bevilacqua

    Really powerful–I’m so glad you shared this.  It made me think of a great nonprofit–Peace First (www.peacefirst.org)–with whom I’ve worked recently.  They work in the schools, alongside teachers, and have a “peacemaking” curriculum, which addresses bullying, of course.  They are trying to develop a PeaceFirst Peace Prize, which they envision as a kind of Nobel Peace Prize for young people.Your brother does terrific and really interesting work!

  7. Tastefairy

    Raw and hones and true.  Thank you for sharing.  May we see it everywhere….

  8. Sunchowder

    Great powerful video Joanne, thanks for posting up here and sharing.  Your brother is a wonderful human being.

  9. TanyaMonteiro

    wow powerful stuff. passing it on to a friend whose son is going through this now

    1. Gotham Gal

      so powerful.

  10. panterosa,

    If bullies were treated for their insecurities none of this would happen. Bullies have been bullied by others, it’s usually familial. Why not treat the bullies so they can stand up to their bully parents and stop the cycle? They wouldn’t need to pick on someone else if they weren’t getting picked on themselves.

  11. panterosa,

    PS. GG not sure if you followed the funny thread of say daughter being AVC participant yesterday. Which led to William commenting that my daughter, who will have an avatar of Rosina, should read GG as a ‘G rated site’ vs AVC with adult language. So this a.m. I open this post to show her and there is every swear word in book via the Loser video. I checked in with WIlliam on AVC to say oops. My daughter and I laughed at the curses, some of which she knew, but some not (a “what sucker”?).Anyways, she should plug in here because she wants to study culinary arts, is 3rd gen foodie, and has a real flair for it. When she makes her debut I’ll introduce you. She’s 10. And more fun that most adults.

    1. Gotham Gal

      that’s awesome.

      1. panterosa,

        She’ll trade recipes and thoughts on what works, best pork buns (momofuko). Her Grandmother started cooking at 12, and my mother is 4star cordon bleu cook. I am a baker and cook.I can’t wait. We need to get Evernote Food. And have her connect here. It Will be Awesome!